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HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS 



OF 



THE FOURTH CANTO 



OP 



(SMiyDia iaAiB(DiLiDc 



HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS 



THE FOURTH CANTO 



®iHiaiyDa ;i!^ia©aaiD3 



CONT FINING 



DISSERTATIONS ON THE RUINS OF ROME; 



AN ESSAY ON ITALIAN LITERATURE. 

6 



BY 

JOHN HOBHOUSE, Esq. ^^n.t< 

or TRINITY COLl-EGK, CAMBRIDGE, M. A. AND F- R. 9 



KBW-YORK: 

VUBI.ISUED BY KIRK fc MERCEIN, 
NO. 22 WALL-STREET. 

Primed by William A. Mercein. 

1818. 



.61 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The reader of the Illustrations is requested to bear 
in mind the object with which they were originally 
written, and not expect to find in them a plan or order 
which can be discovered only with reference to the 
Fourth Canto of Childe Harold. They follow the 
progress of the Pilgrim, and were, indeed, as well as 
the notes now appended to the Canto, for the most 
part written whilst the noble author was yet em- 
ployed in the composition of his poem. They were, 
with the exception of the three or four last articles, 
put into the hands of Lord Byron, much in the state 
in which they now appear; and the partiality of friend- 
ship assigned to them the same place which is oc- 
cupied by the notes detached from them. But the 
writer, on his return to England, considered that the 
appendix to the Canto would thus be swelled to a 
disproportioned bulk, and that the numerous readers 
of the poetry would be better pleased if the choice, 
whether or not they were to be furnished with a vo- 
lume of prose, were to be left altogether to them- 
selves. Under this impression, such only of the no- 
tices as were more immediately connected with the 
text of the poem, were added to that work, and per- 
haps the writer may, even in the present instance, 
have to apologize for not being contented with les* 
copious extracts. 

Some of the longer notices of this volume are, it 
will be seen, dissertations not at all requisite for the 



VI 



intelligibility of Childe Harold, although they may 
illustrate the positions or the objects therein con- 
tained. The writer did not like to touch upon the 
topics connected with a view of the ruins of Rome, 
without recurring to the best authorities on that sub- 
ject. His researches naturally made him diffuse, and 
he will be well pleased if they have not made him 
desultory and tedious. He must own himself not to 
have been idle during the time employed in his in- 
vestigation, which occupied several months of his 
residence at Venice; but he will also confess, that it 
is very likely he ought to have protracted that time, 
and more carefully revised his compilation. Those 
who may discover the errors of these notices, are 
entreated to remember, that in questions depending 
upon the consultation of authorities, the most as- 
siduous attention may overlook a book, a phrase, or 
a word, which may change the whole face of the con- 
troversy; that industry and fairness may be demanded 
from all writers, but that the endless details of eru- 
dition forbid the antiquarian inquirer to hope for any 
other than qualified applause. 

It is trusted, however, that the information here 
collected is such as a traveller in Italy would wish 
to find prepared for him; and such also as those whose 
voyages are confined to their libraries may esteem, 
if not a substitute for an actual survey, at least an 
addition to their stock of knowledge on subjects 
which will never lose their interest, until the example 
of the greatest, the best, and the wisest of mankind, 
shall be found too painful and impracticable a lesson 
for modern degeneracy. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Attachment of the Italians to their distinguished Fellow- 
citizens 11 

Essay on the Imprisonment of Tasso 13 

Anecdotes of Alfieri 29 

Account of the Ruin of the Temple on the Clitumnus 31 

Ignorance of the Antiquaries in Italy — the Site of the Ban- 

dusian Fountain 35 

The approach to Rome 37 

Character of some Antiquaries who have treated of Rome .... 40 
A Dissertation on the Destroyers of the City of Rome, and an 

Account of the gradual disappearance of the Ruins 44 

Tomb of the Scipios Ill 

Destruction of the Tombs near Rome 113 

Doubts respecting the Circuit of the Walls of old Rome, and 

the Ruins in general 117 

Remains of Republican Rome, and the comparative want of 

Interest attached to the Cesarean City 127 

Notice of the Tomb of Cecilia Metella 130 

Doubts respecting the Destruction of the Palace of the Cae- 
sars. Desolation of the Palatine 133 

The Column and Forum of Trajan 138 

Memoir on the Destruction of the Capitol 144 

The Roman Forum. — Doubts respecting the Remains in that 

Quarter 150 

Notices on the Romans of the middle Ages. — Of Cola di Ri- 

enzi. — Of the modern Senate and Government of Rome 159 

The Destruction of the Coliseum 168 

The Pantheon 182 



Vlll 

Page 
Inquiry respecting the Story and the Site of the Temple of 

the Roman Piety 187 

On the Castle of St. Angelo 190 

Roman Catholic Religion, and the Ceremony of the Flagel- 
lants. — Probable Eflfects of Despotism in Italy 200 

Account of some sepulchral Vases lately discovered in a Rock 

at Albano 207 



ESSAY ON THE PRESENT LITERATURE OF ITALY, 
and a general Character of the Lives and Writings of 
Cesarotti, Parini, Alfieri, Pindemonte, Monti, and 
FoscoLO 221 

Letters of Torq,uato Tasso never before published, with 

Translations 306 et seq. 

Letters written by Cola di Rienzi, Tribune of Rome, 

never before published, with Translations 326 etseq^ 

Facsimile of Tasso's Hand-writing ,-.,, , 

Drawings of the Albano Vases , .••..•.••• •••« 



HISTORICAL. ILLUSTRATIONS 



OF THE 



FOURTH CANTO 



OF 



CHILDE HAROLD. 



Stanza XXXI. 



And His their pride — 
An honest pride — and let it be their praise, 
To offer to the passing stranger'' s gaze 
His mansion and his sepulchre. 

J- HERE is no country which can contend with Italy in the 
honours heaped upon the great men of past ages : and the pre- 
sent race accuse themselves of living upon the labours of 
their ancestors, and, as is the usual reproach of heirs, of find- 
ing in their transmitted wealth an inducement to inactivity. 
The territorial divisions and subdivisions which contributed to 
the emulation of these luminaries themselves, has tended to 
the preservation of their fame; and the jealousy of each little 
district guards the altar of its individual divinity, not only as the 
shrine which is to attract the pilgrims of united Europe, but 
as the birthright which is to distinguish it amongst the children 
of the same mother, and exalt it to a preference above its im- 
mediate neighbours. Italian rivalry, in default of those con- 
tests which employed the arts and arms of the middle ages, 
now vents itself in the invidious comparison of individual 
fasti, and in the innocent ostentatious display not of deeds 
but names. Thus it is that there is scarcely a village in which 
the traveller is not reminded of the birth, or the residence, or 
/.he death, or the deeds of one or more of the offspring of a 

o 



12 

soil, fruitful in ever;y production, but more especially the 
land of men. The affection with which even the lower classes 
appropriate the fame of their departed countrymen is very 
striking to a foreigner; and such expressions as " our Corre- 
gio," and " our Ariosto," in the mouth of a peasant^ revive, 
as it were, not only the memory, but the man himself. When 
Napoleon made his progress through his Italian dominions, the 
inhabitants of Reggio received him with a fete, the principal 
decoration of which was a temple of immortality, painted at 
the end of a gallery, adorned with a double range of tablets, to 
the honour of those worthies for whose existence the world had 
been indebted to the dutchy of Reggio. The pretensions of 
Reggio may exemplify those of the other provinces of Italy, 
and the reader may not object to survey the pompous list. 

Boiardo, Signore di Scandiano, epico, del secolo xv. 

Guida da Lazara, giureconsulto, del secolo xiii. 

Ludovico Ariosto, nato a Reggio, da Daria Maleguzi, Reg- 
giana, lirico, comico, satirico, epico, del secolo xiv. 

Domenicho Toschi, Cardinale, Reggiano, giureconulto, 
del secolo xvi. 

Filippo Caroli, Reggiano, giureconsulto, del secolo xiv. 

Antonio Pacchioni, Reggiano, anatortiico, del secolo xvii. 

Cesare Magati, Scandianese, medico e chinirgo, del secolo 
xvii. 

Gianntonio Rocca, Reggiano, matematico, del secolo xvii. 

Antonio Allegri, detto il Corregio da Corregio, pittore, del 
secolo xvi. 

Tomaso Cambiatori, Reggiano, giureconsulto, oratorc, 
poeta, del secolo xvi. 

Sebastiano Conradi di Arceto, grammatico e critico, del se- 
colo xvi. 

Lelio Orsi, Reggiano, pittore, del secolo xvi. 

Vincenzo Cartari, Reggiano, tilologo, del secolo xvi. 

Rafaello Motta, Reggiano, pittore, del secolo xvi. 

Guido Panciroli, Reggiano, giureconsulto, storico, filologo, 
del secolo xvi. 

Ludovico Parisetti, Reggiano, poeta Latino, del secolo xvi. 

Gasparo Scaroffi, Reggiano, ceconomista, del secolo xvi. 

Luca Ferrari, Reggiano, pittore, del secolo xvii. 



13 

Domenico Ceccati, da Stiano, scultore ed intagliatorc, del 
isecolo xvii. 

Antonio Vallisnera da Scandiano, medico, naturalista, del 
secolo xvii. 

Pelegrino Sallandri, Reggiano, poeta, del secolo xviii. 

Agostino Parradisi, Reggiano, ceconomista, oralore, poeta, 
del secolo xviii. 

Francesco Fontanesi, Reggiano, poeta, del secolo xviii. 

Jacopo Zannoni da Montecchio, botanico, del secolo xvii, 

Lazari Spalanzani da Scandiano, naturalista, del secolo 
xviii. 

Laura Bassi di Scandiano, fisica, del secolo xviii. 

Carlo Antonioli da Corregio, filologo, del secolo xviii. 

Francesco Cassoli, Reggiano, poeta, del secolo xviii. 

Luigi Lamberti, Reggiano, filologo c poeta, del secolo xviii. 

Antonio Gamborini, Reggiano, teologo, del secolo xviii. 

Bonaventura Corti, Reggiano, fisico, del secolo xviii. 

Stanza XXXVF. 

And Tasso is their glory and their shame. 
Hark to his strain ! and then survey his cell ! 

In the hospital of St. Anna, at Ferrara, they show a cell, 
over the door of which is the following inscription : 

Rispettate, O Posteri, la celebrita di questa stanza, dove Torqualo 
Tasso infermo pru di tristezza che delirio, ditenuto dimoia anni vii mesi 
II, scrisse verse e prose, e fu rimesso in liberta ad instanza della citta di 
Bergamo, nel giorno vi Luglio 1586. 

The dungeon is below the ground floor of the hospital, and 
the light penetrates through its grated window from a small 
yard, which seems to have been common to other cells. It is 
nine paces long, between five and six wide, and about seven 
feet high. The bedstead, so they tell, has been carried off 
piecemeal, and the door half cut away by the devotion of those 
whom " the verse and prose" of the prisoner have brouglit to 
Ferrara. 

The above address to posterity was inscribed at the instiga- 



14 

tion of General Miollis, who filled Italy with tributes to her 
great men, and was not always very solicitous as to the authen- 
tic application of his record. Common tradition had assigned 
the cell to Tasso long before the inscription: and we may re- 
collect, that, some years ago, a great German poet was much 
incensed, not at the sufferings of the prisoner, but at the pre- 
tensions of the prison. But the author of Werter need not 
have felt so insulted by the demand for his faith. The cell 
was assuredly one of the prisons of the hospital, and in one of 
those prisons we know that Tasso was confined.* The pre- 
sent inscription, indeed, does exaggerate the merits of the 
chamber, for the poet was a prisoner in the same room only 
from the middle of March, 1579, to December, 1580, when 
he was removed to a contiguous apartment much larger, in 
which, to use his own expressions, he could philosophize and 
walkabout.! His prison was, in the year 1584, again en- 
larged. J It is equally certain, also, that once, in 1581, he was 
permitted to leave the hospital for the greater part of a day,§ 
and that this favour was occasionally granted to him in the 
subsequent years of his confinement. || The inscription is incor- 
rect, also, as to the immediate cause of his enlargement, which 
was promised to the city of Bergamo, but was carried into 
effect at the intercession of Don Vincenzo Gonzago, Prince of 
Mantua, chiefly OAving to the unwearied application of Antonio 
Constantino, a gentleman in the suite of the Florentine em- 
bassy.** 

But the address should not have confined itself to the re- 

* The author of the historical memoir on Italian tragedy saw this dun- 
geon in 1792, and, in spite of some hints from the English biographer of 
Tasso, was inclined to believe it to have been the original place of the 
poet's confinement. See Black's Life of Tasso, cap. xv. vol. ii. p. 97 : 
hut the site will not correspond with what Tasso says of his being re- 
moved to a neighbouring apartment, " assai piu commoda" — there is no 
such commodious neighbouring apartment on the same level. 

f La Vita di Torquato Tasso, scritta dall' abate Pierantonio Serassi, 
seconda edizione. ... in Bergamo, 1790, pp. S4 and 64, tom. ii. 

\ La Vita, k,c. lib. iii. p. 83, tom. ii- 

^ La Vita, kc. lib. iii. p. 63, tom. ii. 

11 Vide p. 83, ut sup. 

'^^ La Vita, &.c. lib. iii. p. 142, tom. ii. 



15 

spect due to the prison : one honest line might have been al- 
lotted to the condemnation of the gaoler. There seems in 
the Italian writers something like a disposition to excuse the 
Duke of Ferrara by extenuating the sufferings, or exaggerating 
the derangement of the poet. He who contemplates the dun- 
geon, or even the hospital, of St. Anna, will be at a loss to re- 
concile either the one or the other with that " ample lodge- 
ment" which, according to the antiquities of the house of 
Este, the partiality of Alfonso allotted to the man " whom he 
loved and esteemed much, and wished to keep near his per- 
son."* Muratori confesses himself unable to define the 
offence of the patient; and in a short letter devoted expressly 
to the subject, comes to no other general conclusion, than that 
he could not be called insane,! but was confined partly for 
chastisement, partly for cure, having probably spoken some 
indiscreet words of Alfonso. He makes no mention of the 
disease of the prince ; nor is it easy to discover that free ex- 
ercise of his understanding for which Mr. Gibbon has some- 
where praised this celebrated antiquary.^ Indeed, in his no- 

* " Ma perciocche questo principe I'amava e stimava forte, e non voleva 
privarsene elesse di alimentalo m ([uell' ampio luogo, con desiderio die 
ivi fosse curato anche il corpo suo. " Antichita Estensi, parte sec. cap. 
xiii, p. 405, ediz. fol. Mutin. 1740. 

t Lettera ad Apostolo Zeno, vide Tasso's Works, vol. x. p. 244. " Np 
mentecatto ne pazzo," are Muratori s words. See also p. 24£ and p. 243. 
He is a little freer spoken in this letter, but still says, " the wise prince did 
not give way to his angerP Muratori's Annals were attacked on their 
first appearance, as " uno de' libri piu fatali al principato Romano ;" to 
which the librarian replied, that " truth was neither Guelf nor Ghibelline." 
If he had thought that she was neither catholic nor protestant, he would 
not have slurred over the massacre of St. Bartholomew as an event which 
gave rise to many exaggerations from the Hugonots. " Lascero io dispu- 
tare ai gran Dottori intorno al giustificare o riprovare quel si strepitoso 
fatto ; bastando a me di dire, che per cagion d'esso immense esagerazioni 
fece il partito de gli Ugonoti, e loro servi di stimolo e scusa per ripigliar 
I'armi contra del Re." Annall ad an. 1572, torn. x. p, 464. In page 469, 
ibid, he talks of the great loss of France by the death of the murderer 
Charles IX. who, if he had lived, would have " extirpated the seed of 
heresy." 

\ For a fine and just character of Muratori, see, however, "the Anti- 
quities of the House of Brunswick," p. 641, vol. ii. quarto. Gibbon's Misc. 
Works 



16 

tice of this injustice, the librarian of the Duke of Modena, so 
far from seeming to forget the interests of the princely house 
which pensioned his labours, suggests rather the obvious re- 
flection, that when a writer has to obtain or repay any other 
patronage than that of the public, his first and paramount ob- 
ject cannot be the establishment of truth. Even the subject 
of an absolute monarchy is an unsafe guide on almost every 
topic. The over- rated La Bruyere was base enough to 
reckon the dragooning of the protestants amongst the most 
commendable actions of Louis XIV.* 

Manso, the friend and biographer of Tasso, might have been 
expected to throw some light upon so important a portion of 
his history, but the five chapters devoted to the subject only 
encumbered the question with inconclusive discussion. What 
is still more extraordinary, it appears, that of seven or eight 
cotemporary Ferrarese annalists, only one has mentioned 
that Tasso was confined at all, and that one, Faustini, has as- 
signed a cause more laughable than instructive.! The later 
librarian of Modena was equally disingenuous with his prede- 
cessor, and had the confidence to declare, that by prescribing 
a seven years confinement Alfonso consulted only the health, 
and honour, and advantage, of Tasso, who evinced his con- 
tinued obstinacy by considering himself a prisoner.^ But, 
Avith the librarian's leave, the suspicion was justified by the 
apprehension of his Italian cotemporaries, who, in their sup- 

* The same writer declares " homage to a kins" to be the sole sufficing 
virtue of every good subject in a monarchy, " where there is no such 
thing as love of our country — the interest, the glory, and the service of 
the prince, supply its place." De la Republique, chap. x. For which 
sentiment our great obsolete poet has made honourable mention of him 
amongst his dunces, [The Dunciad, book iv. v. 522.] with whom he 
might be safely left, did he not belong rather to the rogues than the fools. 

f " II Duca Alfonso II. il fece rinchiudere per curarlo di una fistola che 
]o travagliava." Vid Tiraboschi Storia della Letter. Ital. lib. iii. part iii. 
tom. vii. p. 1210, edit. Venet. 1 796. 

\ Credette egli perci6 che e all' onore e alia salute del Tasso niuna 
cosa potesse esser piu utile che il tenerlo non gia prigione, ma custodito 

intanto procurava con rimedj di calmarne I'animo e la fantasia. 

Ma cio che Alfonso operd al vantaggio del Tasso non servi che a renderne 
sempre peggiore la conditione — Gli parve esser prigione.'' Tiraboschi^. 
Storia, kc. lib. iii. tom. vii. par. iii- p. 131 S, edit Venet. 1796. 



17 

^iications for his release, seldom gave him any other name. 
The same writer announced, in the first edition of his History 
of Italian Literature, that he had made the long-looked-for 
discovery as to the cause of Tasso's confinement, and had in- 
trusted the documents found in the archives of the house of 
Este, to the Abate Serassi. In his second edition he declared 
that his expectations, and those of all the learned world, had 
been answered by the life of the poet published by the Abate 
in 1785:* but the antiquary, still faithful to his patrons, did 
not mention, that it appears from every page of the biography, 
that the imprisonment must be attributed rather to the ven- 
geance and mean apprehensions of the prince, than to the ex- 
travagance of the poet. 

The Abate Serassi was acknowledged to be a perfect master 
of the " cinque cento," and he has perhaps spoken as freely 
as could be expected from a priest, an Italian, and a frequent- 
er of the tables of the great. He shows that he is labouring 
with a secret, or at least, a persuasion, which he is at a loss in 
what manner honestly to conceal ; and which, in spite of an 
habitual respect for the best of princes and the most illustrious 

* Storia, &.c. p. 1212, ut sup. 

The English author of the Lifeof Tasso seems half inclined to believe 
in the love of his poet for Leonora. [Black, chap. viii. vol i. p. 188, and 
chap. xiii. vol. ii. p. 2,] and quotes a passage in a letter to Gonzaga, omit- 
ted by Serassi, in which he talks of the princess having but little corres- 
ponded to his attachment [lb. chap. xiv. vol. ii. p. 59.] Mr, Walker, in 
his historical memoir, was bold enough to follow the old story even in 
the face of Serassi, who does, however, appear to have completely set- 
tled the question. Poetical gallantry will account for all the phenomena. 
Dr. Black himself wisely rejects that passion as the adequate cause of 
Torquato's insanity : but we may not perhaps subscribe to his opinion, 
that the poet lost his senses on account of the objections made to his 
Jerusalem [chap. xv. vol ii. p. 91.] The biographer presumes him posi- 
tively mad, and argues on his case out of Pinel and Haslam, and others 
[chap. xii. vol. i. p. 808.] On this ground he supposes the harsh con- 
duct of the duke was adopted as necessary for the cure of Tasso [chap. 
XV. vol. ii. p. 87, and chap. xvi. vol. ii. p. 1 IS ;] and, if his meaning has not 
been mistaken, he almost apologizes for the prescription of Alfonso. It 
is no objection to Dr. Black's work, that the biographical details are trans- 
cribed from Serassi : but this circumstance must excuse the writer from 
having cited the original rather than the English author. 



18 

of cardinals, is sufficiently apparent to confirm our suspicion 
of Alfonso's tyranny. The Duke had not the excuse of Tas- 
so's presumption in aspiring to the love of the princely Leo- 
nora. The far-famed kiss is certainly an invention, although 
not of a modern date. The English were taught by a cotem- 
porary writer to believe that the Lydian boy and the goddess 
of Antium had precipitated Torquato into his dungeon,* and 
Manso hinted the same probability, but with much circum- 
spection. The tale was at last openly told in " The Three 
Gondolas,'^'' a little work, published in 1662, by Girolamo 
Brusoni, at Venice, and immediately suppressed.! Leonora 
of Este was thirty years old when Tasso came to Ferrara ; 
and this perhaps, notwithstanding that serene brow, where 
Love all armed was wont to expatiate, reconciled him to the 
reverence and wonder which succeeded to the first feelings 
of admiration and delight. | It is true that neither her age, 
nor the vermilion cloud which obscured the eyes of Lucres 
tia,§ rendered his Muse less sensible to the pleasure of being 
patronised by the illustrious sisters. Perhaps his intercourse 
with them was not altogether free from that inclination which 

* Mutis abditus ac nigris tenebris 
In quas preecipitem dedere caeci 
Infans Lj'dius, Antiique Diva; 
See some Hendecasyllables of Scipio Gentilis. Serassi la Vita del Tasso, 
&.C. lib. iii. p. 34. tom. ii. 

f Serassi calls it an operaccia. La Vita, &c. lib. ii. p. 169. tom. i. Mu- 
ratoii in his letter to Apostolo Zeno, p. 240. loc cit. tells the story from 
Carretta, who had heard it from Tassoni ; and though he hesitates about 
the kiss, seems to believe Tasso was in love with Leonora, p. 242. Mr. 
Gibbon [Antiquities of the House of Brunswick, p. 693.] turns the story 
to good account — he believes and makes a period. 
f E certo il primo di, clie '1 bel sereno 
Delia tua fronte agli ochi miei s' offerse, 
E vidi armato spaziarvi 1' Amore, 
Se non che riverenza allor converse 
E meraviglia in fredda selce "il seno 
Ivi peria con doppia morte il core. 

Canzone. La Vita, Sic. lib. ii. 
p. 148. tom i. 

I^ Questu nebbia si bclla e si vermiglia. 

Tass. Oper. vol. vi. p. 27, 
La Vita, Sic. lib. ii. p. 100. tom. i. 



19 

the charms of any female might readily excite in a tempera- 
ment too warm to be a respecter of persons. But his heart 
was devoted to humbler and younger beauties; and more 
particularly to Lucretia Bendedio, who had also to rank the 
author of the Pastor Fido amongst her immortal suitors.* Of 
this passion the princess Leonora was the confidante, and as- 
pired to the cure, by the singular expedient of persuading 
him to become the encomiast of one of his rivals-t It appears 
then that the biographer is justified in exclaiming against the 
scandal, which is incompatible with the rank and piety of a 
princess who was a temple of honour and chastity, and a 
single prayer of whom rescued Ferrara from the anger of 
heaven and the inundation of the Po.J It is, also, but too 
certain that Leonora deserted the poet in the first days of his 
distress ; and it is equally known that Tasso, who would not 
have forgotten an early flame, did not hang a single garland 
on the bier of his supposed mistress. § 

The biographer has kft it without doubt that the first cause 
of the punishment of Tasso was his desire to be occasionally, 
or altogether, free from his servitude at the court of Alfonso, 
and that the immediate pretext of his imprisonment was no 
other than disrespectful mention of the Duke and his court. 
In 1575 he resolved, notwithstanding the advice of the 
Dutchess of Urbino, to visit Rome, and enjoy the indulgence 
of the jubilee, and this " error increasing the suspicion already 
entertained at court, that he was in search of another ser- 
vice," was the origin of his misfortunes. II Alfonso detained 

* La Vita, &ic. lib. ii. p. 157. torn. i. 
+ La Vita, ut sup. Pigna was this rival. 

f Quando del P6 tremar I' altcre sponde 
Ferrara dannegiando e dentro, e fuora; 
Un sol prego di te, casta Leonora, 
Spense 1' ire del ciel giuste e profonde. 

Sonetto di Filippo Binaschi. 
See La Vita, fac. lib. ii. p. 170. torn. i. 

{^ La Vita, Sic. lib. iii. pp. 12, 48, 50. torn. ii. 

II " Perciocchfe da un si fatto errore si pu6 dir che avesscro origine ]e 
sue disavventure, essendosi con cid accresciuto a dimisura il sospetto, che 
gia si aveva alia corte,ch' egli cercasse altro serviKio." — La Vita, Sic. lib- 
iL pp. 2S2, 233. torn. i. 

3 



20 

him at Ferrata by the expectation of unreahzed favours,* and 
also by withholding his Jerusalem, which he would not allow 
the author to carry with him to Venice, nor, although he had 
promised the delivery of the manuscript to Cardinal Albani, 
would consent to restore after the flight of Tasso to Rome.t 
An habitual melancholy, a morbid sensibility, irritated by 
the injuries of his rivals and the treachery of his friends, had 
driven him into an excess against an individual of the court: 
but Alfonso did not punish him for drawing his knife: he was 
merely conlined to his apartment, and from this confinement 
and the medicine, which he equally dreaded, found means to 
escape.^ But he felt an anxiety to recover his manuscript, 
and, although the Cardinal Albano and Scipio Gonzaga dis- 
suaded him from trusting himself at the court of Alfonso, re- 
turned to Fcrrara. He there found that the Jerusalem had 
been put into other hands, and that the Duke, after refusing 
to hear him mention the subject, denied him, at last, all access 
to himself and the princesses. The biographer presumes 
that this treatment is to be partly charged upon the poet, who, 
instead of putting himself into a course of medicine, ate and 
drank to excess; but he candidly owns that Tasso had a right 
to his own property, the fruits of his own genius. § He again 
retired, and again returned, in opposition to the entreaties of 
the Marquis Philip of Este, and others, who were better ac- 

* " II Duea m' ha fatto moiti favori, ma io vorrei friitti e non fiori." — 
In a letter from Tasso to Scalabritio. La Vita, &,c. lib. ii. p. 245. torn. i. 

f " Forse perchfe incresceva al duca e alle principessc il perdere dopo 
la persona del poeta anche i suoi pregiati componimenti." — An innocent 
observation of the Abate's. La Vita, &,c, lib. iii. p. 7. torn. i. 

J " Iiilanto il Tasso cominci& a lasciarsi piirgare, ma di nialissimo 
animo." La Vita, Sic lib. ii. p. ^83- torn. i. Poor Tasso thought the ex- 
cellence of a physician consisted in prescribing medicines not only saluti- 
ferous bnt agreeable : " Perchfe come V. S. sa, 1' eccelienza de' medici 
consistc in buona parte in dar le medicine non solo salntifere, ma piace- 
vole." — Tass. Oper. vol. x. p. 860. Lettera a Biaggio Bernardi. La Vita, 
fcc. lib iii. p. 81. torn. ii. 

^ " Per altro sebbene sia da credersi clic molte di si fatte cose fossero 
soltanto effVtto della sua imaginazione, e ch' egli anzi avessc irritato quell' 

ottimo principe col non aver voluto prestarsi ad una purgarigorosa 

ad ugni modo sembra, che so gli viovesse almeno rcstituire il suo poema" 
Xa Vita, &,c lib. iii. p. 13. tom-ii. 



21 

quaintcd than himself with the character of Alfonso.* The 
Duke now refused to admit him to an audience. He was re- 
pulsed from the houses of all the dependants of the court ; and 
not one of the promises which the Cardinal Albano had ob- 
tained for him were carried into effect. Then it was that 
Tasso, " after having suffered these hardships with patience 
for some time, seeing himself constantly discountenanced by 
Ihe Duke and the princesses, abandoned by his friends, and 
derided by his enemies, could no longer contain himself 
within the bounds of moderation, but giving vent to his choler, 
publicly broke forth into the most injurious expressions ima- 
ginable, both against the Duke and all the house of Este, as 
well as against the principal lords of the court, cursing his pasf 
service, and retracting all the praises he had ever given in his 
v^erses to those princes, or to any individual connected with 
them, declaring that they were all a '' gang of poltroons, in- 
grates, and scoundrels." These are the words of SerassijT 
and for this offence was Tasso arrested, and instead of being" 
punished, such is the hint of his biographer, was, by his " ge- 
nerous and magnanimous" sovereign, conducted to the hos- 
pital of St. Anna, and confined in a solitary cell as a madman. 
From repeated passages in his letters, from the intercessions 
made in his favour by so many of the Italian potentates,^ from 
the condition annexed to his release, by which the Duke of 
Mantua stipulated that he would guarantee against any lite- 
rary reprisals from the poet against his persecntor,§ there 
can be no doubt but that these injurious expressions, and 
these alone, were the cause of the confinement of Tasso : so 
Ihat, as the unwillingly convinced biographer is obliged to ex- 

* La Vita, Uc. lib. iii. p. 31. torn. ii. 

t " Che tutti in quel momento space id per una ciiirma di poltroni, in- 
grati, e ribaldi." La Vita, &tc, lib. iii. p. 38. tom. ii. 

I La Vita, fcc. lib. iii. p. 128. torn. ii. Bergamo tempted Alfonso by 
the present of an antique fragment, p. 128. ut sup. 

<^ " Ma riflettendo, che i poeti sono di loro natura gC7ins IrritaMle, e te- 
mendo percio cheTorquato, trovandosi libero, non volesse coU' armi for- 
midabili dtlla suapenna vcndicarsi della lunga prigionia, e de' mali trat- 
tamenti riccvuti a quella corte, non sapea risolversi a lasciarlo uscire da' 
suoi stati, ?enza prima essere assicurato, eh' ci non tenterebbe cosa alcuna 
contro 1' onore c la riverenza dovuta a un si gran principe com' egli 
era.'' — La Vita, &c. lib. iii. p. 128. tom. ii. 



2^ 

claim, it appears extraordinary that so iiiany fables should 
have been dreamt of to account for the motive of his long im- 
prisonment.* Had that which Montaigne called "his fatal 
vivacity" directed itself against any others than the Duke 
and court of Ferrara, or had it preyed, as the Frenchman 
thought, upon himself alone, t a prison would not have been 
the prescription for such harmless extravagance. 

It has been before mentioned that he was only nine months 
in the first dungeon allotted to his crime, or, as his tyrant 
called it, his cure; but to one whose disease was a dread of 
solitude, and whose offence was a love of liberty, the hos- 
pital of St. Anna wasy of itself, a dungeon. J It is certain that 
for nearly the first year he endured all the horrors of a solitary 
sordid cell, and that he was under the care of a gaoler whose 
chief virtue, although he was a poet and a man of letters, was 
a cruel obedience to the commands of his prince. § Whatever 
occasional alleviations were allowed to his distress, he was 
a prisoner to the last day of his abode in the hospital, and he 
felt that there was perpetually a door barred between him 
and the relief of his body and his soul.|| His misfortune was 

* " Cosicche sembra cosa strana, come altri abbia potuto sognare tante 
favole, come si e fatto intorno al motivo della sua lunga prigionia." La 
Vita, 8ic. lib. iii. p. S4. torn. ii. 

f " N' a t' il pas de quoi savoir grfe a cette sienne vivacite meurtriere,'* 
kc. he. Essais, fcc. liv. ii. cap. xii. p. 214. torn. ii. edit, stereot. 1811. 

t " E '1 timor di continua prigionia molto accresce la mia mestizia ; e 
1' accresce I' indegnita, clie mi conviene usare ; e lo squallore della barba, 
e delle chiome, e degli abiti, e la sordidezza, e '1 succidume fieramentc 
m' annojano: e sovra tutto m' afflige la solitudine, mia crudele e natural 
nemica, della quale anco nel mio buono state era talvolta cosi molestato 
che in ore intempestive m' andava ccrcando, o andava ritrovando com- 
pagnia." Letter from Tasso to Scipio Gonzaga. Oper. vol. x. p. 386 
La Vita, &<c. lib. iii. p. 35. torn. ii. 

^ " Sed neque cui parvo est virtus in corpore major 
" Mustius, obsequiis intentus principis usque." 
His name was Agostino Mosti. See La Vita, kc. lib. iii. p. 38. torn. ii. 
Tiisso saj's of him, in a letter to his sister, *'ed usa meco ogni sorted! 
rigorc ed inumanita." See Opera, vol. ix. p. 183, and La Vita, die. lib. 
iii. p. 40. torn. ii. Baruffaldi tries to defend him, by saying that Tasso was 
guilty of high treason, and Mosti was only doing his duty. Vita di M. L. 
Ariosto, Rb. iii. p. 244. This avowal is every thing for the point wished 
t© be proved. 

]| " O Signor Maurizio, quando sara quel giorno ch' io possa respirar 



23 

rather aggravated than diminished by the repeated expecta- 
tions held out to him of approaching liberation. His calami- 
ties gathered upon him with his confinement, and at no time 
was his condition more deplorable than in the last months of 
his detention.* Amongst the diseases of his body and his 
mind, the desire and despair of freedom so constantly preyed 
upon him, that when the order for his departure had been ob- 
tained, his friends were cautious not to communicate the glad 
tidings to him too abruptly, for fear of some fatal revulsion. 
We must then deduct something from the harmonious praise 
which our eloquent and courtly countryman claims for the 
splendid patronage of the house of Este. The liberality, the 
taste, the gratitude of Cardinal Hippolyto, may be collected 
from the poet whom he degraded into a courier, whose Or- 
lando he derided, and whose services he requited with dis- 
dainful neglect.! The magnificence of his brother, the duke, 
assigned to Ariosto a pension of 21 lire a month, and food for 
three servants and two horses ; a salary with which the poet 

sotto il clelo aperto, e che non mi veda sempie un uacio senato davanti, 
quando mi pare di aver bisogno del medico o del confessore.'' This pa- 
thetic letter was written to his friend Cataneo a few months before his 
release. Opera, vol. ix. p. 367. La Vita, lib. iii. p. 139. torn. ii. 

* " Sappia che per 1' infermita di molti anni sono smcmoratissimo e 
per questa cagione dolentissimo, benche non sia questa sola ec, c' fe la de- 
bolezza di tutti i sensi e di tutte le membra, c quasi la vechiezza venuta 
innanzi agli anni, e la prigionia, e 1' ignoranza delle cose del mondo, e la 
solitudine, la quale fe misera e nojosa oltre 1' altre, massimamente s' ella 
non fe d' uomini, ma d' amici." A solitude to which all the unhappy are 
condemned. Letter to Monsig. Papio, dated Sept. 1585. Opera, vol. x. 
p. 313. La Vita, lib. iii. p. 133. 

I Non mi lascio fermar molto in un luogo 
E di poeta cavallar mi feo. 

Arlost. Sat. vi. 
Mtsser Ludovico dove avete mai trovate tante fanfaluche ? was the famous 
speech of the cardinal to Ariosto on first reading the Orlando. Hipolyto 
dismissed him from his service without any recompense : he liad before 
tncouraged the composition of the Orlando, by telling the author, " che 
sarebbegli stato assai pi^ caro che avesse atteso a servirlo." See the be- 
fore cited La Vita di M. Ludovica Ariosto scritta daW Abate Girolamu 
Baruffaldi Giuniore. Ferrara mdcccvik. lib. ii.pp. 119, 120. lib. iii. pp. 
174, 177. The Abate, under the late government, could afford to give an 
honest character of this Purple Mcecenas—nnd has done it. 



24 

would have been contented had it been paid.* But our histor 
rian has stepped beyond the bounds of panegyric in ascribing 
the Orlando to the favour of the first Alfonso. t The immor- 
tal poem struggled into life under the barren shade of the 
Cardinal Hippolyto, and the author derived no other benefit 
from its second appearance, under the auspices of the court 
of Ferrara, than the sale of a hundred copies for eight and 
twenty crowns. I The obligations of the Jerusalem Delivered 
to the second Alfonso, may have been already apprecated. 
They consisted in the seven years imprisonment of the author, 
and the surreptitious publication of a mutilated manuscript. 
The princes of Italy were not deficient in a fruitless deference 
to the claims of literature : this was the taste of the age, and 
they divided that merit with the accomplished highwaymen 
of the day.§ They regarded a man of letters as a necessary 
appendage to their dignity, and a poet was the more che- 
rished as he was the oftener employed in recording the 
triumphs of his protecting court. The muse was encouraged 
and confined to her laureate duties, and so carefully was her 
gratitude secured, and her recompense so exactly weighed, 
that the day before the Prince of Mantua obtained the libera- 
tion of Tasso, he commanded the captive to compose a copy 
of verses as an earnest, it should seem, of more elaborate 
efforts. II The same prince imitated the example of Alfonso 
in retaining the manuscripts of our poet, as a pledge for his 
future attachment to the house of Gonzaga ; and having as- 
signed him a small sum for his immediate exigencies, would 
not allow him to purchase clothes unless he would consent 
to wear them out in the duties of the Mantuan court. A 

-* See Ariosto Satir. ad Annibale Malaguzzo, and La Vita, &,c. iib. iii. 
p. 184. 

j " FeiTara may boast that in her classic ground Ariosto and Tasso 
lived and sung ; that the lines of the Orlando Furioso, and of the Jerusa- 
lem Delivered, were inscribed in everlasting characters under the eye of 
the first and second Alfonso." 

See Gibbon's Antiquities of the House of Brunswick, edit, cit p. 694. 

:{ La Vita di M. Lodovico Ariosto, kc. lib. iii. p. 136. 

^ See the adventure of Ariosto with Filippo Pachione. La Vita di 
M. L. Ariosto, fcc. lib. iii. p, 1 87, and that of Tasso withMarco di Sciarra. 
La Vita del Tasso, &.c. lib. iii. p. 229. torn. ii. 

fl La Vita, &.c. lib. iii. p. 144. torn. v. 



25 

thousand traits in the life of Tasso serve to show that genius 
was considered the property, not of the individual, but his 
patron ; and that the reward allotted for this appropriation 
was dealt out with jealous avarice. The author of the Jeru- 
salem, when he was at the height of his favour at the court 
of Ferrara, could not redeem the covering of his body and 
bed, which he was obliged to leave in pledge for 1 3 crowns 
and 45 lire on accompanying the cardinal of Este to France. 
This circumstance appears from a testamentary document 
preserved in manuscript in the public library of Ferrara, 
which is imperfectly copied into the Life of Tasso,* and the 
following letter! is extracted from the same collection of auto- 
graphs as a singular exemplification of what has been before 
said of princely patronage. 

My Magnificent Lord, 

I send your lordship five skirts, all of which 
want mending. Give them to your relation ; and let him knoxo 
that I do not wish them to be mixed xoith the others ; and that 
he vnll gratify me by coming one day with you to see me. In 
the mean while I wait for that answer which your lordship pro- 
mised to solicit for me. Put your friend in mind of it. I kiss 
your lordship^ s hand* 

Your very faithful servant, 

ToRQUATO Tasso. 
From S. Anna, the 4th of Jan. 1585. 

If you cannot come with your relation, come alone. I want 
to speak to you. And get the cloth washed in which the shirts 
are wrapped up. 

To the very Magnificent Lord, 
The Signor Luca Scalabrino. 

* Lib. ii. p. 171. torn. 1. Seras^ had not seen the original, but copied 
from a copy — the list of goods in pawn is left out. 

] At the end of these notices, will be seen the original and_,the other 
Ferrara MSS. which have never been published entirely or correctly. 
Dr. Black has followed some incorrect writer in saying that Tasso's hand- 
writing " was small and almost illegible." [Chap, xxiv, vol. ii. pp. 344, 
S45.] That it was large and very legible will be seen from afac-simile 
of an autograph in possession of the writer, also subjoined. 



26 

Such was the condition of him who tiiought that, besides 
God, to the poet alone belonged the name of creator, and 
who was also persuaded, that he himself was the first Italian 
of that divine race.* Those who indulge in the dreams of 
earthly retribution will observe, that the cruelty of Alfonso 
was not left without its recompense, even in his own person. 
He survived the affection of his subjects and of his dependants, 
who deserted him at his death, and suffered his body to be in- 
terred without princely or decent honours. His last wishes 
were neglected ; his testament cancelled. His kinsman Don 
Caesar shrank from the excommunication of the Vatican, and 
after a short struggle, or raliier suspense, Ferrara passed away 
for ever from the dominion of the house of Este.t 

Stanza XXXV. 
Ferrara .' in thy ivide and grass-grown streets. 

When Tasso arrived in Ferrara, in 1 565, he found the city 
one brilliant theatre.! The largest streets which he saw 
thronged with all the forms of gayety and splendour, are now 
almost untrodden, and support a few paupers in the fruitless 
attempt to eradicate the grass and weeds. The cutting the 
canal from the Reno to the Po, and the saltpetre manufacto- 
ries, had begun to revive and augment the languid population. 

* " II Tasso si lev6 in collera, e disse cheil poeta era cosa di- 

vina, e i Greci \\ chiamcmo con un' attributo che si da a Dio, quasi volen- 
do inferire, che nel mondo non ci h chi meriti il nome di creatore, che Dio 
e il Poeta." See La Vita, &tc. lib. iii. p. 262. Monsij^nor de Nores asked 

him who he thought deserved the first place, " fra i nostri poeti 

mi rispose, 'almio giudizio all' Ariosto si deve il secondo,' e soggiun- 
gendogli io subito, * e il primo ?' Sorrise, e mi volto le spalle, volendo 
credo io che intendessi, che il primo lo riserbava a sfe." See La Vita, &.c. 
lib. iii. p. 262. torn. ii. 

•i" Antichitu Estensi. par. ii. cap. 13 and 14. 

I " II Gianluca ovvero delle maschere." Opere del Tasso, Venice, 

1738, vol. viii. pp. 4, 5. " Quando prima vidi Ferrara, e mi parve, 

che tutta la citta fosse una maravigliosa, e non piA veduta scena dipinta, 
e luminosa, e plena di miile forme, e di mille apparense, e le azioni di 
quel tempo simili a quelle, che sono rappresentate ne' teatri con varie 
linKUP, e con varie interlocutor!." 



27 

The return of the legate to the castle has confirmed the curse 
on the streets of Ferrara. The Ferrarese subjects of Alfonso 
II. must share in the disgrace attached to the imprisonment, 
for thej contributed to the persecution of Tasso.* To many 
names now scarcely known except as having been joined in 
this base design, must be added those of Horatio Ariosto, 
great nephew of the poet, and of the more celebrated Gua- 
rini. The disordered fancies of Tasso furnished them with 
the excuse and with the means for his ruin. The toleration 
of the eccentricities of genius is more frequently found in the 
language than the practice of mankind : and the natural in- 
clination to repel any assumption or supposition of exemp- 
tion from the common rules of life, is not more likely to be 
found in the saloons of princes, which arc made up of forms 
and precedents, than in the lower independent classes of so- 
ciety. The Ferrarese appear to have carried (heir com- 
plaisance to their sovereigns to an unusual excess ; for on the 
tower of the cathedral we read the following inscription. 

DIVO HERCVLE SECVN DVCE IMPERANTE. 

An apotheosis, for which, if their god was still alive, there 
is some doubt whether the slavery of Imperial Rome can 
furnish them with an example.! Now it was one of the ex- 
travagancies of Tasso to discover that haughty spirit of a 
gentleman and a scholar, which made him averse to flattery, J 
and to that self-annihilation which is the most acceptable qua- 

* " Cid che fe certo fe, che iu Ferrara per la malvaggla invidia cortigi- 
ana venne a formarsi contro il povero Tasso una specie di congiura," Sic, 
La Vita del Tasso, &ic. dell' Abate Pierantonio Serassi, sec. ediz. in 
Bergamo, 1790, lib. ii. p. 259, torn. i. 

t Julius Caesar, Caligula, and Domitian, Mere deified during their life- 
time. See the question argued in Donatus, who gives it against the 
Divvs. Roma Vetus, lib. iii. cap. iv. Classical authority excused even ir- 
religion. Bembo rejected that unity of the Deity which was repugnant 
to his Ciceronian latinity ; and, when writing in tha name of the Pope, 
ascribed his election to the chair of St. Peter to the favour of the " ivi- 
mortal gods,^' deorum immortalium beneficiis. 

t " Quanto egU fe piuttosto di sua natura altiero ed alieno da ogni ter- 
mine di adulazione, che acconcio alle scurrilitu certigiane." La Vita, &tc. 
lib. iii. p. 261. torn. ii. 

4 



28 

lity in a dependant. To this ignorance of the arts of courtly 
dissimulation, his biographer does not hesitate to attribute 
his misfortunes,*' and the inference must be dishonourable to 
his Ferrarese competitors. It appears that Tasso was in part 
the victim of a household conspiracy, formed by those who 
were totally incapable of appreciating either his virtues or 
his failings ; and who thought themselves interested, if they 
did not find, to prove him insane. For this purpose every 
little extravagance of action was carefully watched and noted 
down. Not only his words were submitted to the same cha- 
ritable interpretation, but his thoughts were scrutinized, and 
in pursuit of the same evidence of his derangement and dis- 
affection to his duties, his books, his papers, and his corres- 
pondence were explored in those repositories which are safe 
against all but domestic treachery ; I affection for his person, 
and admiration for his talents, were the pretext for every pro- 
ceeding against his liberty and his fame ; and so far did this 
insulting hypocrisy proceed, that a report was industriously 
spread, that it was the kind resource of pity to pronounce him 
not guilty but mad. This rumour caused and excused the de- 
sertion of one whose relief seemed hopeless. Remonstrance 
was an aggravation, concession a proof, of his delinquency. 
Both were unavaihng, and tlie voice of friendship could give 
no other counsel than to be silent and to submit. His disaster 
was considered as his decease ; and his cotemporaries 
usurped and abused the rights of posterity. Compositions, 
some unfinished, and none of them intended for the liglit, 
were devoted to the greedy gains of literaiy pirates ; and on 
such documents, no less garbled than the representation of 
his actions, did his enemies proceed to judgment. These 
calamities would have overwhelmed guilt, and might confound 
innocence. But the tried affection of an only sister, the un- 
shaken though unserviceable regard of former associates, and 
more than all, his own unconquerable mind, supplied the mo- 
tive and the means of resistance. He had lost the hope of 
mercy, he cherished the expectation of justice. This con- 

* La Vita, &,c. p. 277. 

t Ibid. lib. ii. p. £58. torn. i. Plutarch tells us that Romulus allowed 
only three causes of divorce, drunkenness, adultery, aaii false keys. 



29 

fidence preserved the principle of life ; and the sensibility of 
misfortune gave an irresistible edge and temper to his facul- 
ties whenever his spirit emerged from distress. The rays of 
liis genius could not dissipate, but they burst, at intervals, 
through the gloom of his seclusion, and his countrymen soon 
found that their poet, although hidden from their sight, was 
still high above the horizon. 

Stanza LIV. 

Here repose 
Angdo's, JUJierVs bones, &fc. 

The following anecdotes of Alfieri are from an authentic 
source, and appear worthy record. The poet was one 
evening at the house of the Princess Carignani, and leaning, 
in one of his silent moods, against a sideboard decorated with 
a rich tea-service of china, by a sudden movement of his 
long loose tresses, threw down one of the cups. The lady 
of the mansion ventured to tell him that he had spoilt her 
set, and had better have broken them all ; but the words were 
no sooner said, than Alheri, without replying or changing 
countenance, swept off the whole service upon the floor. 
His hair was fated to bring another of his eccentricities into 
play ; for, being alone at the theatre at Turin, and hanging 
carelessly with his head backwards over the corner of his box, 
a lady in the next seat on the other side of the partition, who 
had, on other occasions, made several attempts to attract his 
attention, broke into violent and repeated encomiums on his 
auburn locks, which were flowing down close to her hand. 
Alfieri spoke not a word, and continued in his posture until 
he left the theatre. The lady received the next morning a 
parcel, the contents of which she found to be the tresses she 
had so much admired, and which the count had cut off close 
to his head. There was no billet with the present, but words 
could not have more clearly expostulated, ^^ If you like ihe 
hair, here it is, but for heavdi's sake leave me alone.''^ 

Alfieri employed a respectable young man at Florence to 
assist him in his Greek translations, and the manner in which 
that instruction was received was not a little eccentric. The 



30 

tutor slowly read aloud and translated the tragedian, and Al- 
fieri, with his pencil and tablets in hand, walked about the 
room and put down his version. This he did without speak- 
ing a word, and when he found his preceptor reciting too 
quickly, or when he did not understand the passage, he held 
up his pencil, — this was the signal for repetition, and the last 
sentence was slowly recited, or the reading was stopped, un- 
til a tap from the poet's pencil on the table warned the trans- 
lator that he might continue his lecture. The lesson began 
and concluded with a slight and silent obeisance, and during 
the twelve or thirteen months of instruction, the count 
scarcely spoke as many words to the assistant of his studies. 
The Countess of Albany, however, on receiving something 
like a remonstrance against this reserve, assured the young 
man that the count had the highest esteem for him and his 
services. But it is not to be supposed that the master felt 
much regret at giving his last lesson to so Pythagorean a pu- 
pil. The same gentleman describes the poet as one whom he 
had seldom heard speak in any company, and as seldom seen 
sm'le. His daily temper depended not a little upon his fa- 
vourite horse, whom he used to feed out of his hand, and 
ordered to be led out before him every morning. If the ani- 
mal neighed, or replied to his caresses with any signs of 
pleasure, his countenance brightened, but the insensibility of 
the horse, was generally followed by the dejection of the 
master. 

The tomb of Alfieri in the Santa Croce, is one of the 
least successful productions of Canova. The whole monu- 
ment is heavy, and projects itself into the aisle of the 
church more prominently than becomes the associate of the 
more modest but richer sepulchres of Michael Angclo and 
Machiaveili. The colossal Cybcle of Italy weeping over a 
medallion in low relief, shows the difficulty of doingjustice to 
the mourner and the monument, and may besides be mis- 
taken for the princess of the house of Stolberg, whose name 
and title have left little room on the inscription for Alfieri 
himself. They show a little step opposite to the monument, 
on which the princess herself periodically contemplates her 
own work and that of Canova. The grief of an amiable 
woman for the loss o. an accomplished man, may be ex- 



31 

pected to endure ; and, to say the truth, the other sex has 
too long wanted a " pendant" for the twice retold tale of the 
Ephesian matron. 

Stanza LXVI. 

But thou, Clitumnus, in thy sweetest wave. 

The Clitumnus rises at Le Vene di Campello, or di Piscig- 
nano. In the territory of Trevi and that of Foligno, it is 
Called the "Clitauno," and lower down in its course assumes 
the nams of La Timmia. Antiquaries have been careful 
to measure the exact size of its original fountain, which they 
find to be eleven Roman palm^ and ten inches long, and one 
palm se /en inches and a iialf wide. This source pours from 
beneath a blind arch in the b-gh road from Foligno to Spoleto, 
half a mile from the post-house of Le Vene, and gushing into 
a thousand blue eddies, is sooa lost in a bad of giant reeds. 
The peasants of the neighbourhood say that the stream 
has many fountains, and although no where in the immediate 
vicinity it is wider tlian a mUl-brook, is in many places un- 
fathomable. The C!itu:n;iug has baei sung by most of the 
poets from Virgil to Oaadian. The Umbrian Jupiter bore 
the same name; an I either he or the river-god himself inspir- 
ed an oracle which gave answers by lots, and which was con- 
sulted by Caigila.* Thore were festivals celebrated by 
the people of the neighbouring Hispellum in honour of this 
deity. t When Pliny the younger saw and described the Cli- 
tumnus, the fountain spread at once into a considerable river,| 
capable of bearing two laden boats abreast ;§ but it is thought 
to have been shrunk by the great earthquake in 446, which 
shook Constantinople for six months, and was violently felt in 

"^ SuetoD.in Vita Calig. 

f Gori. Mu3. Etrus. torn. ii. p. 66. " Clitumnalia sacra apud Hispe.1- 
lates in ejus honorem celebrata fuisse, constat auctoritate hujus vetustse 
arae, eidem dedicata, quae inter Gudianas vulgata est." Edit. Florent. 
17S7. 

\ " Fons adhuc et jam amplissiraum flumen." Epist. ad Romanura, lib. 
viii. epist. viii. 

5^ " Navei i ; amen ne heic intelligas majores sed scaphas tantum." P. 
Cluvcrii Italiae Antiquas, lib. ii. cap. 10. torn. 1. p. 702. edit. Elzev. 



32 

many parts of Ualy. The " glassy Fucine lake, the sea- 
p;reen Anio, the sulphureous Nar, the clear Faberis, and the 
turbid Tiber," are, with the cold ClituiTinus, known to have 
been affected by this tremendous convulsion.* Hence, per- 
haps, the holes which are said to be unfathomable. It has, 
however, been always honourably mentioned amongst the 
rivers of Italy ;t and if the little temple on its banks was not 
thrown down, the effects of the earthquake could not have been 
very important. With respect to this temple, now a church, 
dedicated to the Saviour, which is seen a few paces before you 
come to the principal source, some doubts Imve been enter- 
tained of its antiquity by a late English traveller, who is very 
seldom sceptical out of place. J Fabretti, in his inscriptions,§ 
had before asserted that it had been built from ancient frag- 
ments by the Christians, who baptized it, sculptured the grapes 
on the tympanum, and added the steps. Mr. Forsyth's 
objection can, however, in this instance, perhaps be removed 
by the mention of a fact with which he appears to have been 
unacquainted. The inside of the temple described by Pliny 
was " bescratched with the nonsense of an album," and of 
this record no vestiges were seen by our acute traveller : they 
could not, for the whole of the interior of the chapel is allow- 
ed to have been modernized when the altar niche was added 
at the conversion of the structure, and any ancient remnants 
then left within were carried away when it was reduced to its 
present appearance in the middle of the last century. The 
sculpture of the columns, singular as it is, can scarcely be 
made a valid objection. Palladio calls it most delicate and 
beautifully various, |[ and if what appears in his drawings vine 

* Sidon. Apoliinar. lib. i. epist. 5. 

f Boccaccio dc Flum. in verb. Clitum. " Clitumnus Umbriae fluvius 
apud Mevaniara et Spoletum defluens, ex ipjo (ut quidam volunt,) si con- 
fertim postquam cmcepitbos bibat ; album pariet. Quam ob rem Ro- 
mani niagnas hostias Jovi imroolaturi ad hunc locum per albis tauris 
mittebant. Hunc alii tbntcm alii laciun dicunt" in fin. Lib. de geneal. 
deorum. edit, Princ. 

t Remarks on Ital}^ kc. p. 320. Sec. edit. 

<5 Inscrip. p. 38. Sec Osservazior-i, &:c. p. 61. ut inf. 

[| " Lavorate delicatissimamcnte e con bella varieta d'intagli." Incho- 
nog. de'Temp. lb. iv. p. 2. cap. 35. del terapio ch' e sotto Trevi. Tom. 
vi. p. 10. Ven. 1740. Tiie plates. are not at all recognizable. 



33 

leaves, be in realitjr, as Venuti asserts,* and as they seem to 
be, fish scales, the workmanship may have some allusion to the 
river god. The above great architect sawthis temple entire, 
and made five designs of it.t What remains, which is only 
the western portico and the exterior of the cell, is certainly a 
part of the temple seen by him, and called by Cluverius one 
of the Fanes of Jupiter CIitumnus4 It appears the Fane 
preserved the form copied by Palladio down to 1730, when 
an earthquake broke off a piece of the cornice, and even in 
1739 it had not been reduced to the ruin in which Venuti saw 
it, and which seems to differ but little from, its present con- 
dition. § The chapel belonged formerly to the community of 
Trevi, but about the year 1420 they lost it together with the 
castle of Piscignano, and it became a simple ecclesiastical be- 
nefice of ten or twelve crowns annual rent attached to the 
Dateria at Rome. In 1 730 it was intrusted to a brother Hila- 
rion, who, under the pretext of repairing it, made a bargain 
with Benedetti bishop of Spoleto, to furnish him with a por- 
tion of the columns and marbles for three and twenty crowns. 
The community of Piscignano opposed this spoliation for 
some time, and an order was even procured from Pope Cle- 
ment XII. to prevent it. But Monsignore Ancajani, then 
bishop of Spoleto, confirmed the sale, laughed at the injunc- 
tion, and said the marbles were but old stones ;|| consequently 
the hermit, brother Paul, who had been left by Hilarion, fell 
to work, demolished great part of the porticoes, and sold 
four of the columns for eighteen crowns to the Signore Fon- 
tani of Spoleto, who used them in building a family chapel in 

* Osservazioni sopra 11 fiutne Clitunoo, dall' Abate Ridolpho Venuti^ 
Cortonese, a Roma, 1753. 

t See Ichonog. ut sup. 

\P. Cluveiii Italise Antiqua*, ut sup. Sacraria ista nulla alia fulre^ 
aisi quae ab initio ad varios Clitumni fontes variis Jovis Clitumni nomini- 
bus numinibusque posita, ea baud dubie postea in Christianae religionis 
usum conversa. His annotator Holstenius also believed it most ancient, 
Annot. ad Cluv. Geog- pag. 125. 

v^ " La facciata die vedesi verso Ponente e I'unica che sia rimasta illesa 
dal furore dcgl' ignoranti." See ut sup. pag. 45. 

H Quale se ne rise, dicendo essere eassacci, e seguito il frate a deniolir«? 
e portar via. See Osservazioni, ut sup. 



34 

the Philippine church of that town.* In 1748 the same 
brother Paul, looking for a fancied treasure, broke his way 
through the interior of the chapel, and tore up part of the 
subterranean cell, of which pious researches there are the 
marks at this day. Whatever remained of marble in the 
inside of the structure was theA carried away, and it was with 
much difficulty that the remaining portico was saved from the 
hands of the hermit. t The reader is requested to bear in 
mind this transaction of two bishops and two holy brothers, 
executed in spite of the most respectable opposition in the 
middle of the last century. It may assist his conjectures 
when he comes to estimate the probable merits of the Chris- 
tian clergy who are said to have been so instrumental during 
the dark ages in preserving the relics of Rome. The Abate 
of Cortona talks with indignation of the offence, J and con- 
cludes with a prayer to Benedict the Fourteenth to recover 
the pillage, and replace the columns and marbles on their an- 
cient base. Indeed the spoilers were guilty not only of a 
crime against the antiquary, but of sacrilege. Clitumnus 
could not be expected to deter brother Hilarion and brother 
Paul, but the name of our Saviour might. Benedict the 
Fourteenth did not listen to the Abate, and we see the 
temple as it was left by the honest hermit. 

It should seem then that the little portico and the form at 
least of the cell belong to an ancient temple, and probably to 
that of the Clitumnus, if not to one of the many chapels 
which were near the principal fane.§ There were formerly 

* " Distruttore di questa fabbrica e stato iin certo Eremita Chiamato 
Fra Paolo, die le ha vendute (4 colonne) per soli diecidotto scudi ai Fon- 
tai)ini di Spolf;to, che se ne sono serviti per fare una lore cappella in onore 
di St. Filippo." Lettera MS. del conte Giacomo Valf.nti, ap. Venut. os- 
servazioni, inc. page 49. 

f " . . . and the statue of the god (the Clitumnus) has yielded its place 
to the triumphant cross. This circumstance is rather fortunate, as to it 
the temple owes its preservation." Classical Tour through Italy, chap, 
ix. torn. 1. p. 321. Sd edit. Mr. Eustace was innocent of all knowledge 
of the above fact : otherwise, though a zealous crusader, he would not 
have stuck his triumphant cross on the Clitumnus. 

I " E quello non hanno fatto i Goti n«?llc incursione, I'hanno fatto quelli, 
che non s'intendono d'antichita. Osservazioni, fee. ut sup. 

^ " Sparsa sunt circa sacella complura." Plin. epist. he. 



35 

vestiges of two other small ancient structures,* which had not 
entirely disappeared when Venuti wrote, and had given to 
a spot above the church the name ad socrarla. The counts 
Valenti di Trevi found also the statue of a river god near the 
chapel, and placed it in their collection. Add to this that 
the namest still seen on the roof of the subterranean cell 
belonged probably to those who had consulted the oracle, 
and that there can be no doubt of the antiquity of that adytus, 
although it is half blocked up and defaced by the excavations 
©f brother Paul. The cypress grove which shaded the hill 
above the source of the river has disappeared, but the water 
still preserves the ancient property of producing some of the 
finest trout to be met with in Italy. 

Stanza LXXVII. 

Yet fare thee well ; upon Sorade^s ridge we part. 

The pilgrim may take leave of Horace upon Soractc ; not 
so the antiquary, who pursues him to the city and country, to 
Rome and Tivoli, and hunts him through the windings of the 
Sabine valley, till he detects him pouring forth his flowers over 
^e glassy margin of his Bandusian fount. Before, however, 
the discreet traveller girds himself for such a tour, he is re- 
quested to lay aside all modern guide books, and previously to 
peruse a French work called " Researches after the house of 
Horace." This will undeceive him as to the Bandusian foun- 
tain, which he is not to look for in the Sabine valley, but on 
the Lucano-Appulian border where Horace was born. 

Lucanus an Appulus anceps. 

The vicissitude which placed a priest on the throne of the 
Cffisars has ordained that a bull of Pope Paschal the second 
should be the decisive document in ascertaining the site of a 
fountain which inspired an ode of Horace J. The traveller 

*Holstenius Annot. ad Geog. Cluv. pag. 123. 

t T. SEPTIMIVS BIDIA. L. F. 

PLEBEIVS POLLA 

The temple of the oracle of Memnon in Upper Egypt was full of such 
inscriptions. See Osservazioni, &.c. page 5G. 
t Confirmamus siquidem vobis Csenobiura ipsum et omnia, qua? ad 

5 



3b' 

must not be alarmecl at the three or four volumes which com- 
pose these researches after a single lionse : the establishment 
of identity in these cases is absolutely necessary even as a 
basis for (he enthusiasm of which classical recollections are 
the c.uise, or at least the excuse. T'he lixinj^ localities and de- 
termining the claims of Ihose antir|uilies whose chief interest is 
derived from the story attached to <hern,is generally supposed 
the pecniiar province of dull plodding writer's : but as the man 
most willing to give scope to his imagination would hardly 
choose to have any other foundation for his feeling than truth, 
and ;is h(^ would be inc(»nse(l at having been entrapped by an 
ignorniit enthusiastic declaimer into an admiration of objectfi 
wIios(^ auth(Miticity may be questioned by the first cool ex- 
aminant, it is but fair that he should accept the labours of the 
professed topographer and anticjuary with their due share of 
com})lacency and ])raise. The common o|)inion that blind 
b(dief is the most convetiient rm/(V(y/«, is contradicted by the 
e\|)crience of every traveller in Italy. 1I(^ who begins his 
journey with sueb entire confidence in connnon fame and 
common guide books, must have the conviction of impos- 
ture anti mistake forced upon him at every turn. He is 
likely then (o slide into the contrary extreme, and, if he is 
averse to all pn-vious examination, will subside at last into 
coini'lett! scepticism and indill'erence. We may apply a lite- 
ral sense to the words of Erasmus in praise of Italy. " In 
that countri/ the vcrif walls are more learned and more eloquent 
than our mvn.^'''''' But the immense variety of antiquarian 
objects, the innumerable details of historical topography be- 
longing to every province, the national inclination to fable, 
and, it niay be said, to deception, suggest themselves to every 
consi(l(Mate trav(dler. and induce him to a caution and reserve 
which, with wonders less multiplied and guides more faithful, 

jlliul pcrliiirnt, mona^teria sivp trllas ciun su'ib ptMlincntiis : videlicet 
Knlcsiaui S. Salvaloris cum aliis ccdcsiis dt- (^astello Bandusn. The 
hull is adthTsse«l to tho AI)hol .MunnsUrii fianliin in .'Ipitlia Jlchcrunlin, 
and eniimeratiiij^ tiic ciiurches, j^oes on, I-WUsiam sandoriim martyriim 
Gcrvasii ct I'rotasii in Bandusiuo foulv (xpad I'citii.slitm. Tlie date of 
the bull is INlay 22, IIO.'S. [See Bullarium Komainini, I'ascbalis, P. P, 
accundus, num. xvii. torn. ii. pag. 12r3, edit. Homa, i7j>[».] 
*Lib. 1. epist. 4. to Hob. Fisher. 



37 

he might deem siiperfluous and embarrassing. A very little 
experience is sunicicnt to convince him how small is the pro- 
portion of those antiquities wliose real character has been 
entirely ascertained. From his first view of Soracte he ra- 
pidly advances upon Homo, the approach to which soon 
brinjjs him upon debateable j^round. At CivitaCastellanahe 
will find himself amongst the Veians when in the market- 
place of lico the Tenth, but going on the town bridge; Ik; is 
told by Pius the Sixth tliat ho is at Falerium. After he has 
caught the first view of St. Peter's from the height beyond 
Baccano, he hopes that the r(>maining fifteen miles may fur- 
nish him at every other step with some sign of his vicinity to 
flome: he palpitates with expectation, and gazes eagerly oq 
the open undulaling delis and plains, fearful lest a fragment of 
an a(pieduc<, a colunui, or an arch, should escape his no(ice. 

Gibbets garnished with black withered limbs, and a monk 
in a vetturino's chaise, may remind him (hat he is approach- 
ing the modern capital ; but he d(;scends into alternate hol- 
lows, and winds up hill after hill with nothing to observe ex- 
cept the incorrectness of the last book of travels, which will 
have talked to him of the fl;it, bare, dreary Wiiste he has to 
pass over before arriving at the Eternal City. At last, how- 
ever, he is stopped at a sarcophagus, and told to look at Ihe 
torn!) of jVVro ; a hardy fvilsehood, which may prepare him for 
the misnomers of the city itself, but which, notwithstanding 
Ihe name of c. vibivs marianvs is cut upon the stone, was 
£to exactly suited to the taste and learning of the president 
Dupaty, that he pointed a period of his favourite starts and 
dashes, with this epigram, on the approach to ruined Rome, 
^ c'es< le tombcau de Jicron qui Pannonce,''^*' 

Stanza LXXVIII. 

O Rome .' my country, city of the soul. 

The downs which the traveller has passed after leaving 
Monterosi, sink into green shrubby dells as he arrives withiu 

* The writer hiivinj; throAvn tlio hook in llu' firr", cannot quote cliapt^f 
and versR for this ypnsense, hut it is tu he found in Wu|)aty's travelsj. 



38 

five or six miles of Rome. The Monte Mario stretches for- 
wartl its high woody piatform on the right. The distant 
plain of the Tiber and the Campagna, to the left, is closed by 
the Tiburtine and Alban hills. Jn the midst Rome herseli(^ 
wide sj)rcading from the Vatican to the pine-covered Pincian, 
is seen at intervals so far apart as to appear more than a sin- 
gle city. Ariived at the banks of the Tiber, he does not 
find the muddy insignificant stream which the disappointments 
of overheat(!d expectations have described it, but one of the 
finest rivers in Europe, now rolling through a vale of gardens, 
and now sweeping the base of swelhng acclivities clothed 
with wood, and crowned with villas and their evergreen 
shrubberies. The gate of the city is seen immediately on 
crossing the river at the end of a vista two miles in length ; 
and the suburb is not composed of mean dwellings, but a fine 
road wit]\ a wide pavement passes between the walls of vine- 
yards and orchards, with here and there neat snmmer-liouses, 
or arched gateways rising on either hand, and becoming more 
frequent with tlie nearer approach to the city. The Flami- 
nian gate, although it is thought unworthy of Rome and Mi- 
chael Angelo, will content those who are not fastidious. An 
entrance, not an arch of triumph, is sufficicjit for the modern 
capital. The stranger, when within that gate, may ascend at 
once by the new road winding up the Pincian mount, and en- 
joy from that eminence the view of a city, which, whatever 
may be the faults of its architectural details, is, when seen in 
the mass, incomparably the handsomest in the world.* The 
pure transparent sky above him will seem made, as it were, 
to give brilliancy to the magnificent prospect below. The 
new climate will indeed add much to his delight, for although 
amongst those branches of the Apennines which approach 
within forty miles of tlie city, he may have been chilled by 
the rigours of a Lombard sky, he is no sooner in the plain of 
the Tiber, than his spirits expand in an atmosphere, which, 
in many seasons, preserves an unsullied lustre and exhilarating. 

* DoikUus pri'ferf tlio site, the streets, and as far as tin; churcli of St. 
Pelt-r's is co.iisicl»Mvd, tlic edifices of the niodeni to those of the ancient 
city Roma Vitus, li!. i. cap. £19. The town is much improved since 
the time of-.Urhau VIII. to whom Donutus dedicated liis work. 



39 

warmth from the rains of autumn to the tempests of the vei' 
nal equinox. What has been said and sung of the tepid 
winter of Italy, is not intelligible to the north of Rome ; but 
in that divine city, for some transport may be allowed to the 
recollection of all its attractions, we assent to the praises of 
Virgil, and feel his poetry to have spoken the language of 
truth. 

" Hie ver assiduum atque alienis mensibus aestas." 
This must have been written at Rome. The banks of his 
frozen Mincio would have inspired no such rapture.* But 
not the superb structures of the modem town, nor the happy 
climate, have made Rome the country of every man and 
" the city of the soul." The education which has qualified 
the traveller of every nation for that citizenship which is 
again become, in one point of view, what it once was, the 
portion of the whole civilized world, prepares for him at 
Rome enjoyments independent of the city and inhabitants 
about him, and of all the allurements of site and climate. 
He will have already peopled the banks of the Tiber with 
the shades of Pompey, Constantine, and Belisarius, and the 
other heroes of the Milvian bridge. The first footstep with- 
in the venerable walls will have shown him the name and the 
magnificence of Augustus, and the three long narrow streets 
branching from this obelisk, like the theatre of Palladio, will 
have imposed upon his fancy with an air of antiquity conge- 
nial to the soil. Even the mendicants of the country asking^ 
alms in Latin prayers, and the vineyard gates of the suburbs 
inscribed with the ancient language, may be allowed to con- 
tribute to the agreeable delusion. Of the local sanctity 
which belongs to Athens, Rome, and Constantinople, the two 
first may be thought to possess, perhaps, an equal share. 
The latter is attractive chiefly for that site which was chosen 
for the retreat and became the grave of empire. The Greek 
capital may be more precious in the eyes of the artist, and, 
it may be, of the scholar, but yields to the magnitude, the 

* Rome had fallen when Rutilius said of her climate. 
Tere tuo nunquam mulceri dosiiiit annus 
Deliciasque twag Ticta tueter hyems. 

CI: Rut. Nmn. Iter 



40 

grandeur, and variety of the Roman relics. The robe of the 
Orientals has spread round Athens an air of antique preserva- 
tion, which (he European city and the concourse of strangers 
have partially dispelled from Rome. But the required soli- 
tude may be occasionaljy found amongst the vaults of the 
Palatine, or the columns of the great Forum itself. Ancient 
and modern Rome are linked together like the dead and liv- 
ing criminals of Mezentius. The present town may be easi- 
ly forgotten amidst (he wrecks of the ancient metropolis ; 
and a spectator on the tower of the capitol may turn from the 
carnival throngs of the Corso, to the contiguous fragments 
of the old city, and not behold a single human being. The 
general elFect of such a prospect may be felt by any one ; 
and ignorance may be consoled by hearing that a detailed ex- 
amination must be made (he study rather of a life than of a 
casual visit. 

Stanza LXXVIII. 

Come and see. : » C^ 

The cypress, hear the owl, and plod your tvay 
O'er steps of broken thrones and temples. 

The traveller who is neither very young nor very incu- 
rious, may inquire what previous instruction or present guides 
will enable him to understand the history as well as to feel the 
moral elfect of " these broken thrones and temples." To 
this question no satisfactory answer can be given. The 
earlier notices of the Roman antiquities abound with errors, 
which might be expected from the infancy of a study requi- 
ring so much discretion. Petrarch, who was himself an anti- 
quary, and presented a collection of gold and silver medals 
to the Emperor Charles IV. in 1354, called the pyramid of 
Cestius, the tomb of Remus ; and Poggio, who is surprised at 
such an error,* has indulged in exaggerations which very much 
reduce the vahie of his lamentation over the fallen city. 

* De fortuiiie varictate urlii.s Romsp ct de minis pjiisdem descriptio 
A|). SalleiiKro IVmv. TI)o-<aiir. Antiq. Roman. V^'iict. J 735, torn, i. p. 



M 

The iil-tempered Florentine has also told us what to expect 
from his cotemporaiy Ciriacus of Ancona, whose forty days 
ride in Rome, with his tablets in hand, has procured for him 
no better names than an impostor and a dunce.* Flavins 
Blondus, who dedicated to the patron of this latter writer, to 
Euf];enius IV., contented himself with a description rather 
of the ancient city, and hazarded so few conjectures on its 
comparative topography, that he owns he could hardly disco- 
ver the seven hills on the most minute inspection.! When 
less doubtful, he is not less erroneous, and amongst other 
instances, may be selected his assertion that Theodoric per- 
mitted the Romans to employ the stones of the Coliseum for 
the repair of the city walls. | In the end of the same cen- 
tury (XVth), Pomponius La;tus made a collection of anticjues 
on the Quirinal, and distinguished himself in exploring the 
ruins ; but the forgery of the inscription to Claudian§ renders 
the authority of the restorer of the drama more than sus- 
pected. Sabellico Peutinger, and Andreas Fulvius, both of 
the school of L.T.tus, will throw little light on a survey of 
Rome. The character of Marlianus may be given from his 



■''" See an account of him in Tlraboschl. Storia della Lftt. torn, vi- 
par. i. 111), i. p. 2G4 tt si-q. edit. Vcnt-t. 1795. He rode on a white horse, 
lent him by Cardinal Condolraieri, afterwards Eiigenius IV. Tiraboschi 
defends Ciriacus. 

f Roma instaurata, edit. Taurin. 1527, in a collection, lib. i. fol. 14. 

\ Ibid. lib. iii. fol 53. See note on the Coliseum, 

^ Claudian had a statue in the forum of Trajan, but the inscription 
was composed by Pomj)oniiis Lsetus. See Tiraboschi Storia, &-c. torn, 
ii. lib. iv. It imposed on all the antitjuaries, and was believed even by 
Nardini. See lloma Antic, lib. v. cap. ix. Considerable caution is re- 
quisite even at this time in reading; inscriptions either on the spot or copied. 
Tliat on the horse of Aurelius was written at a vc-iiture, when that monu- 
ment was transported from the Lateran to the capitol in 1538, by Paul 
III. 

Faunus, Gruter, Pagi, Smetius, D<'sig;odet7, Piranosi, gave an incorrect 
copy of the inscription on the Pantheon. Marlianus, Faunus, and 
Nardini, have done the same by the inscription on the Temple of Con- 
cord. Seethe Abate F<%'i's dissertation on the ruins of Rome at the erwi 
of his translation of Wiuckelman's Storia delle arti, fcc. torn. iii. pp. 294- 
398. 



42 

annotator Fulviua Ursinua.* lie does not treat frequently 
of the modern town, and despatches the curiosities of the 
capitol in twenty Hnes. The arbitrary rashness which dis- 
pleased Ursinus is, however, shown in instances more decisive 
than the one selected by his annotator. Lucius Faunus is 
occasionally qut>ted by later writers, and generally for the 
sake of correcting his errors.! The studious but unlearned 
Ligorius, the erudite obscure Panvinius, have received their 
estimation from Montfaucon.J Pancirolus does not attempt 
to be a modern guide, and Frabricius, where he runs into the 
contrary extreme, and gives ancient names to disputed rem- 
nants, is to be admired only for the boldness of his conjec- 
ture. § Donatus and Nardini are indeed of a very superior 
quality, and the last is to this day the most serviceable 
conductor. The exception made in their favour by the 
more modern writers, is not however unqualified. || Mont- 



*Fulviusis angrywith Marlianus for placing thetempleofJupiterTonans 
near the Clivus Capitulinus, but it is placed there again by the antiquaries 
of our own day. " Atque fortasse minus est admirandum quod ita factus 
est homo hie ut arbiti-atu suo temcrc omnia tractet " See Marliani 
urbisRomse topographia, ap. Gra>v. Antiq. Roman, torn. iii. lib. ii. cap. 
3. p. 141. notes. Marlianus dedicated his treatise to Francis I. whom 
he styles liberator Romce. 

f De Antiq. urb. Romffi. ap. Sallengre. Nov. Thesaur. &lc. torn. i. p. 
217. 

I Diarium Italicum, edit. Paris, 1702, cap. 20. p. 279. " Sequitur 
Onuphrius Panvinius, qui omnes quotquot antea scripserunt eruditis 
suis lucubrationibus obscuravit.'' He is given in the third vol. of 
Grsevius. 

^j They are both to be found in the third vol. of Graevius. Descriptio 
urbis Romffi. Descriptio Roma;, p. 4G2. George Fabricius wrote in 
1550. Panvinius dedicated his description of Rome, which he added to 
the old regionaries, to the Emperor Ferdinand, in 1558. Fabricius him- 
self mentions some early writers in his first chapter, and lays down a 
useful canon. "In cognoscendis autem urbis antiquitatibus sermo vulgi 
audiendus non est." 

II " E quibus, (that is, all the early topographers) si hos binos posterio- 
res exceperis, nemo est, qui in turpes errores non impegerit, quamquam 
nee isti quidem immunes sint." Jul. Minutuli, dissertatio iii. de urbis 
Roma; topographia. Syllabus auctorum, ap. Sallengre Supp., &ic. p. 
40* 



43 

f^ucon, in the end of the XVIIth century, found them and 
many others who had passed nearly their whole lives in at- 
tempting a description of the city, far from satisfactory ;"^' and 
neither he nor his cotemporaries supplied the deficiency. A 
hundred years have not furnished the desired plan of the 
city. Detached monuments have been investigated with 
some success ; and whenever Visconti has shone out, we have 
had reason "to bless the useful light." But whoever should 
attempt a general view of the subject, would have to brush 
away the cobwebs of erudition, with which even the modern 
discoveries are partially obscured. Venuti hardly deserves 
the praise conferred upon him by our most intelligent modern 
traveller.! His style and argument are in many places such 
as not to allow of his being divined, and he generally leaves 
us, even when most positive, to balance doubts and choose 
between difficulties. If the Abbe Barthelemy had pursued 
his original plan of writing an Italian Anacharsis for the age 
of LeoX., he might have been more useful at Rome than he 
is in Greece. As it is, the Abbe's cursory but learned obser- 
vations are distinguished by the quotation of a very singular 
document, the original of which has never been found,! a^d 

* Montfaucon saj's of Donatua, " quamvis plura pra?termittat quam 
scribit." Of Nardini, " laudatnm opus a lautlatis viris," but " videturque 
sane nihil pensi habere, dum dubia et ditllcultates perpetuo injiciat, ubi ne 
vel umbra difiicultatis fuerit." Diariuin Italicum, he, cap. 20. p. 231. 
edit Paris, 1702. 

f Mr. Forsyth, after touching on the inadequacy of former topogra- 
phers, as general guides, says, *' Vcmili has sifted this fai-rago.'''' If 
he has, the chaff flics in our eyes. Remarks, &i.c. on Italy, p. 129. sec. 
edit. 

X It refers to the Coliseum, and will be remarked in its proper place- 
See Mem. de racademi*- des ! elles lettres, torn xxviii. pp. 010. 539. A 
separate volume has been printed. 

Mr. Millin has published four volumes on Upper Italy, (Voyage en 
Savoie, en Piemont, A Nice et a Genes, 18 IG; and Voyage dans le Mi- 
lanais a Plaisanc:-, Parme, 8ic. 1817.) and is to continue his work down 
to the straits of Messina, and into Calabria. He should be warned that 
he is charged by the Italians with never having been in some of the 
spots he describes as a spectator. His compilation does not apply to 
present appearances. It is as clear that he never has been at Parma, as 
j.hat Buonaparte was at the battle of Lodi, which, by the account given 

6 



'44 

his ingenious countrymen had not extended their hterary em- 
pire to the illustration of sites and monuments in their rival Ita- 
ly, until their political dominion had emhraced the soil itself. 
Our own writers, with the exception of Mr. Forsyth, whose 
sketch makes us regret the loss of the taste and learning he might 
have brought to bear on a regular survey, have done nothing 
in this laborious line, absolutely nothing. The last of them 
seems to have thought it of little importance that the capitol 
was ever inhabited by any others than the monks of Ara coeli, 
or that the court of Augustus preceded that of the Popes. 
The insufficiency of all latter labours, and the necessity of 
some new guide, may be collected from the expedient at last 
adopted of republishing Nardini.* What has been said of the 
embarrassment of a stranger at Rome, must appear more sin- 
gular when it is recollected, that besides the casual eiforts of 
natives and foreigners, there is an archseological society con- 
stantly at work upon the antiquities of the city and neighbour- 
hood, and that not a few persons of liberal education are in 
the exercise of a lucrative profession, having for object the 
instruction and conduct of travellers amidst the wrecks of 
the old town and the museums of the new. 

Stanza LXXX. 

The Goih, the Cftnstian, $,-c. 

A comment on these verses will naturally embrace some 
^remarks on the various causes of the destruction of Rome, a 
subject on which, it is said with the utmost deference, the 
last chapter of our great historian has furnished a hasty out- 
line rather than the requisite details.! The inquiry has par- 
taken of the fate of all disputed points. The exculpation of 

bj- this conserver of the king's medals, it would appear he was not. See 
Voyage dans le Milanals, Sic. pp. 57, 58. chap. xvi. 

■* It has been undertaken by Mr. Nibby, a respectable young man, one 
of the professional antiquaries of Rome, who is likewise emploj'ed on a 
translation of Pausanias. The volume on the Basilica of St. Paul, under 
the nameof Monsignor Niccolai, is by this gentleman. 

f Let it not be thought presumptuous to say that this last chapter 
should have been his first coinjjosition, written while his memory was 



45 

the Goths and Vandals has been thought prejudicial to the 
Christians, and the praise of the latter regarded as an injus- 
tice to the barbarians ; but, forgetting the controversy and 
following the order prescribed in the cited verse, perhaps we 
shall find both the one and the other to have been more active 
despoilcrs than has been confessed by Iheir mutual apologists, 
A learned Tuscan, a friend of Tasso, wrote a treatise ex- 
pressly on this subject, and positively asserted that from 
Alaric to Arnulphus no damage was done by the barbarians to 

freshly stamped with the image of the ruins which inspired his immortal 
labours. In the present case his researches do not bear the mark of hav- 
ing been at all corrected by his Italian travels ; and indeed, in more than 
one instance, his erudition has completely effaced his experience. It is 
not meant to uttach undue importance to trilles, but an author, whose 
accuracy was his pride, and who is generally allowed to have descended 
to the minutest details, particularly in topography, might hardly be ex- 
pected to have made the following mistake : " The Roman ambassadors 
were introduced to the tent of Jlltila as ht lay encamped at the place ivhere 
the sloio loinding Mincius is lost in the foaming Benacus, and trampled 
ivith his Scythian cavah~y the farms of Catidlus and Firgil ;" and below, 
note 63, " The Marquis Maffei ( Verona iUustrala, part i pp. 95, 129, 221, 
partii.pp.2, — 6.) has illustrated tvith taste and learning this interesting 
topography. He places the interview of Attila and St Leo near Anolica, 
or Ardelica, now Peschiera, at the conjlux of the lake and the rivers De- 
cline and Fall, cap. xxxv. p. ISt. torn. vi. oct. Extraordinary ! The 
Mincius flows from the Benacus at Peschitra, not into it. The country 
is on a descent the whole way fiom the Veronese hills, according to the 
quotation from Virgil cited by Mr. Gibbon himself: 

qua se subducere colics, 



Incipiunt. 



More strange still is the reference to Maffei, who, so far from alluding to 
a conflux of the river and lake, says at the close of the very sentence re- 
specting the interview between Attila and St. Leo, " Chi scrisse il luogo 
di cosi memorabil fatto essere stato ove sbocca il Mincio nel Po, d'autore 
antico non ebbe appoggio." Verona illustrata, parte i. p. 424. Verona 
1732. The other references, parte ii. p. 3, 10, 11, of the same edition* 
say nothing of the course of the river. It is just possible Mr. Gibbon 
thought Maffei meant to deny that the Mincio fell into the Po : but at all 
events he might have seen at Peschiera that it runs through sluices out of 
the Benacus. Maffei, however, in another place actually mentions the 
outlet of the lake into the Mincio : ^^ Peschiera .... aW esUo del lago 8V^ 
Mincio.^' Vcron. illust. par. iii, \). 510. edit. cit. 



46 

fciiy of tlu; public edifices of Rome.* He owned that sudi art 
opinion would appetir paradoxical, and so indeed will it hd 
Ibiiiul after a cursory surv«\y, and even as he treats the inqui- 
ry, it is c(Mtain that y\laric did burn a part of Rome. Oro- 
sius,t by midcing the comparison between the former great 
fires and Ibat of (he Golhs, shows that such a comparison 
mii^bt be sut:;i;es(o(l hy (be magnitude of the latter calamity. 
He adds also that after the people were returned the confla- 
gration bad left ils traces, and in relating the partial destruc- 
tion of Ihe Forum by lightning, makes it appear that the 
bra/en beams and tb(> mighty structures which were then con- 
.suukmI would have fallen by the hands and flames of the bar- 
barians, bad they not been too massive for human force to 
overthrow. J It should be remembered that the supposed 
piety redeemed the actual violence of the Coths, and that 
respect for the vessels of St. Peter's shrine made Orosius al- 
niost the apologist of Alaric. 

The lamentations of St. Jerome are too loud to allow us 
to suppose the calamity did not alfect the buildings. § He 



* .\nc;elio Pietro ila Rarga dc privalorum pnhlicorumquc ctdijiciorum 
nrbit Roiiitr, eversoribus epistola ad Pctrum Usiinbardiim, iic. Ap. Grsev. 
Ai)ti(]. Honiiiii. turn. iv. p 1870. Edit. Vciiot. 1161. " sed tanici) quod 
jid piihlicornni o'dilicionim et sul)struclioiiuni ruinas pcrtinet niliil oiniiino 
iricutninodi passa est." 

f "T«rlia die Harbari, qiiani iii|;rosai fiiorint urbem, sponto discediint, 
facU) (luidrm alitiuaiitaruni a-diiin) imondio, sod no tanlo (jiiidein, qiian- 
tiiiu st'ptiiij;csiino condilidiiis ijus anno casus ettocorat." He compares^ 
tilt' Gallir and Ncronic fires, and says they were greater than the Gutliic- 
Jiiial. Lit), vii. cap xxxix. " Cujus roi quamvis reccns memoria sit, tum 
si ipiis ipsiiH populi Ritmnni et niultitiidinem vidcat et vocem audiat, nihil 
f.icluin, sieut ipsi etiani I'atentur, arbitrai)itiir, nisi aliqiiantis adhuc cxisten- 
tilmsex inocndio minis lorte dttceatnr." Lib. vii. cap. xi. 

I " CJiiippe cnm snpra luniianas vires csset, incendt re apneas trabes, et 
sniirui r«' m:i<:;narunj niolcs struetmarnni, ietn I'nlniinnni Forum cum ima- 
^inihus variis. qua* snperstitione misiTabili vel deuni vel lioininemmentiun- 
tur, abjietmn est : )ioruin([ue omnium al>ominamentorum (piod immissa 
porhostom ilaninia non adiit, missus e caMo ignis cvertil." Lib. ii cap. lf<- 

^ See Epist. cxxvii. ad Princijiiani ; Epist. cxxiii. ad Agruchiain. pp. 
'.103— »oy. torn. i. llieron. Opera- Veron. 17d4. 



47 

calls the city " the sepulcht-c of the Roman people," ^nd 
particularizes that "the walls were half destroyed."* 

More confidence might be attached to his account of the 
ruin and restoration of Rome, if he had not attributed the 
latter to the profession of virginity by a single noble lady.t 

In subsequent times we find the strongest expressions ap- 
plied to the sack of Rome by Alaric. Pope Gelasius in a 
letter to the senator Andromachus (A. D. 496) has the words 
" when Alaric overturned the city."| 

Procopius§ confines the fire to the quarter near the Sala- 
rian gate; but adds that the Goths ravaged the whole city. 
The despoiling edifices of ornaments, many of which must 
Lave been connected with their structure, could not fail to 
hasten their decay. 

Marcellinus mentions that a part of Rome was burnt, and 
delays the departure of the barbarians to the sixth day.|| 

Cassiodorus,** a much better and earlier authority in every 
respect than the three last writers, assures us that " many of 
the wonders of Rome were burnt." Olyrapiodorus talks 

* " Urhs tua quondam orhis caput Rommii populi sepulchrum est — 

^emiruta urbis Itomana mania." Epist- cxxx. ud Demelriadcm, p. 974. 
toin. 1. 

f He says the victory of Marcellus at Nola did not so raise the spirits 
of the Romans, afflicted by the battles of Trebia, Tbrasymene, 
and Cannae, as this vow of chastity : " Tunc Ingubrcs vestes Italia muta- 
vit, et semiruta urbis micnia, prislinain ex parte rccepero fulgorem," 
Epist. cxxx. ut sup. 

I " Cum urbem Alaricus cvertit." See Baronii Annales Ecclesiast. 
cym critice Pagi, ad an- 496. torn. viii. pag. 605. Luca? 1740. 

§ 'Ot Se 'fas 'f f itixiai iviTt^t^sa/v. at tiji rtiJ^jjj aixx^ata ijoav' iv aij »Jf xut 
!y aa^ovfff tov, f oi) ^Oifxaioi^to rta%aiov "triv va-'to^to/v y^u^MitOi' rji 01^ I'tt TiXtbdVa 
»jl*t xavta %ai, f j i^ti eorrjxt' *»jv -gg liilKw oXriv TiTjCad/^evoi, xai pwjuajwv toiij 
jtXiiatovi fiia^i^tipai'T'f J, ri^aui ix^fovv. Procop. Bell. Vand. Lib. i. pag^. 
93. Edit. Hoeschelii. Aug. 

II " Alaricus trepidant urbem Roraam invasit, partemque ejus creraa- 
vit incondio, sextaqiie die quam ingressus fuerat depredata urbe egressua 
est" Chronic, ap. Sirraond. Opera Varia, torn. ii. pag. 274. Venet. 

** " Roraam venerunt, (juam vastantes, plurima quidem miraculorum 
e^us igne concremaverunt-" Hist. Eccleeiast. Tripar. Lib. xi. cap. 9. pag. 
36!;, tora. 1. JRothomaj^i 16T0. 



48 

onlj* of the infinite quantity of wealth which Alaric carried 
away ; but we may collect from him also how great was the 
disaster, when he tells us, that on the repeopling of the city 
fourteen thousand returned in one day. 

The Gothic historian who says that fire was not put to the 
town is no evidence, being directly contradicted by the above 
quoted and other authorities.! 

The words of the ecclesiastical historians are of strong im- 
port : one of them talks of fire and the city lying in ruins ;| 
another repeats the expression of Cassiodorus, that many of 
the wonders were destroyed ;§ and a third that the Basilica of 
St. Peter's was alone spared from the universal rapine. || 

That the city partially recovered itself is of course to be 
allowed. Albinus was active in his attempts at restoration, 
and the poet Rutilius, who was prefect in 417, not only extols 
the uninjured remains of antiquity, but prophesies the repair 
of every ruin.*"^'" But he whole of his beautiful verses are an 
hyperbole. He says that Brennus only delayed the chastise- 
ment that awaited him, that Pyrrhus was at last defeated, and 
that Hannibal wept his success ; therefore the downfal of 
Alaric might be safely foretold. The blazing temples of the 
capitol, the aerial aqueducts, the marble sheltered groves, 

* 'E| ^5 xi'Kf^O''^''^ ^* ortttpa i^Exo/.w^e. Ap. Phot. Bibliot. edit. Rotho- 
mag. 16&3- pag. 180. Albinus wished to restore the city, but people were 
wanting, p. 188. 

f " Ad postremum Romam ingressi Alarico jubente spoliant tantum, 
non autem, ut solent gentes, ignem supponunt, nee locis sanctorum in ali- 
quo penitus injuriam irrogari patiuntur." Jornandes de reb. Get. cap. 
XXX. p. 85, 86. Lugd. Bat. 1697. 

J Kat •fo iv-fiv^sv tr^i tooa/vtrji S6^r;i -to utyiOo^. xai ■to tfr-^ 5vva/tf«j ftifiMVV- 
f.t-ov, cO.%o^7^ov Ttv^ xa) |i.'$oj TtoVii/tiov. xai, «t;^jita7i.u)ffta xaT'£jttfpi^£T'o/3op/3apoj . 
:^&v tptiTtiOii 6s trji rt6?vfws xtifisvyji A^dftixoi .... Philostorgii Eccl, Hist. Lib. 
'xii. A p. Phot. Bihiiot. num. 3. pag. 534. torn. ii. edit, ut sup. 

§ Tf'Xoi ti fyjv PciMjjf xatixa&ov xac rtop^^cai'i'fs avt-yjv ta ,ufv rtoJiXa tuv 
Oavi-iaatiij' txftVuv Oiaua-rMv xatexavsav. Socrat. Hist Ecclesias. Lib. vii- 
cap X. p. 283. 

!1 Sozomen, Hist. Ecclesias Lib. ix. tap. 9. 

"" " Astrorum flammoe renovent occasibus ortus 
LranaiTs finiri cernis ut incipiat." 

C!. Rut. Num. Iter. 



49 

might still be praised ; but he confesses that Rome had siifFei- 
ed that which would have dissolved another empire ;* his pro- 
phecies of repair were those of a poet, and the ruins of the 
palace of Sallust remained to contradict them in the time of 
Procopius.t 

The injury done by Genserick (A. D. 455) was not so great 
as that of the Goths, and Da Barga despatches his invasion in 
a few sentences. Jornandes, however, applies the expression 
devastation to his entry.J All the writers§ are of accord that 
the Vandals in their fourteen days residence emptied Rome 
of her wealth ; and as we are informed, of the robbery of half 
the tiles of the temple of the Capitoline Jupiter, and of all 
the treasures of the Temple of Peace, and the palace of the 
Csesars,|| it is reasonable to suppose that the precious metals 
were extracted and torn down from all the structures, public 
and private, a violence which, without the use of fire or en- 
gines, must have loosened many of the compact masses, and 
been totally destructive of smaller edifices. An ecclesiasti- 
cal historian twice mentions that Genserick set fire to Rome, 



* Illiid te reparat quod cetera reg;na resolvit 
Ordo lenascendi est crcscere posse m.ilis. 

Claud. Rutilii. Numant. Iter. ver. 140, 
f Bell. Vandal, in loc. cit. 

\ " Quod audiens Gicericus rex Vandalorum, ab Africa armata classe 
in Italiam venit, Romamque ingressus cuncta devastat." Jornand. de 
reb. Get. cap. 45. pag. 417. sub fin. Cassiod, open fol 1679. 

^ Conscendcrat arces 
Evandri massyla phalanx, naontesquc Quirini 
Marmarici pressere pedes, rursusquc levexit 
QuEe captiva dedit quondam stipendia Barche. 

Sidon. Apollin. cannen vii. Paiieg. Avit. vers. 441. 
" Gizericus sollicitatus a relicta Valentiniani, ut malum fama dispergit, 
priusquam Avitus Augustus fieret, Romam ingreditur, direptisque opibus 
Romanorum Carthaginem redil." Idatii. Episcop. Chronic, ap. Sirmond. 
opera varia Venet pag. 239. torn. ii. 

" Gensericus rex invitatus ex Africa Romam ingressus est eaque 

urbe rebus omnibus spoliata," &.c. Marcellini Chronic, ap. Sirmond. 
Tom. ii. pag. 274. 

II Bell. Vandal, pag. 97. edit, citat. "Oi'^e Z'^'^X^^ wfs dw.oi; ttooiv Iv 



go 

but the silence of other writers has discredited his autho- 
rity.* 

The sack of Rome by Ricimer (A. D. 472) is generally 
overlooked by the apologists of the early invaders ; but it 
should not be forgotten that the " Barbarians, Arians, and In- 
fidels" were indulged by the patrician in the plunder of all 
but two regions of the city.t 

Considerable stress has been laid upon the grandeur of the 
structures which still remained, after the above calamities, to 
be admired by Theodoric, but the praise of what is left does 
Hot include a proof that little has been lost : were it so, Rome 
would appear to have not suffered much even in the middle 
ages, when her fragments were the wonder of the pilgrims of 
every nation. It must, besides, be remarked, that the larger 
monuments, the Forum of Trajan, the Circus Maximus, the 
Coliseum, the Capitol, the Theatre of Pompey, the Palace of 
the Caesars, are those particularly recorded by the minister of 
the Gothic monarch, and of those the two latter were in want 
of repair. I A palace partly in ruins§ on the Pincian mount, 
marbles and square blocks every where lying prostrate, || the 
desertion and decay of many houses, must, partially at least, 
be attributed to the fire of Alaric ; the spoliation of the Van- 
dals, and the sack of Ricimer. To Vitiges, who came down 
on Rome like a raging lion,** must be ascribed the destruction 

* AXKi tijv TtoXiv rtDprtoT-ijoaj rtuvta-ti X'fj'Csdfisvo^ tr}V 'Piipjv fiirte- 

Ttpyjs^ai Evagrii Hist. Eccl. lib. ii. cap. vii. p. 293. 

t Annali d'ltalia, vol. iii. p. 222. Milan 1744. " Ed ecco I'amaro frutto 
dell' aver gl' Imperadoii voluto per lor ^uardie, o per ausiliarj.gente Bar- 
Lara, Ariana, e di niuna fede. 

I Cassiodori. Variar. epist. 51. lib. iv. epist. v. Kb. vii. 

^ " Ut marmora quse de domo Pinciana constat esse deposita ad Ra- 
vcnnatem urbem per catabulenses vestra ordinatione dirigantur-" Epist. 
10. adFestum. lib. iii. torn. 1 pag. 43 edit cit- 

II " Et ideo iliustris magnificentia tua marmorura quadrates qui passinn 

diruti neglignntur et ornent aliquid saxa jacentia post ruinas.'^i 

Epist. vii. lib, i. pag. 26. lorn- 1. edit, cit- In another place he says, " Fa- 
eiiis est a^dificiorum ruina incolarum subtracta cnstodia," fcc. 

** " Quod audiens Vitiges, ut leo furibundus omnem Gothorum exerci- 

tum Tlavenn&que egreasus Romanas arces obsidione longa fatigat." 

Jornand. de rebus Geticis, cap. 60. pag. 178, edit. 1697. 



51 

of the aqueducts, which rendered useless the immense thei'- 
mas ; and as these appear never to have been frequented af- 
terwards, their dilapidation must be partially, but only par- 
tially, ascribed to the Goths. Vitiges burnt every thing with- 
out the walls, and commenced the desolation of the Cam- 
pagna.* Totilat is known to have burnt a third part of the 
walls, and although he desisted from his meditated destruc- 
tion of every monument, the extent of the injury inflicted by 
that conqueror may have been greater than is usually sup- 
posed. Procopius affirms, that he did burn " not a small por- 
tion of the city," especially beyond the Tiber. J An author 
of the Chronicles records a fire, and the§ total abandonment 
of the city for more than forty days : and it must be men- 
tioned, that there is no certain trace of the palace of the Cae- 
sars having survived the irruption of Totila.|| It must have 
been at his second entry that this monarch " lived with this 
Romans as a father with his children," and not at the first, as 
might be thought from the Annals of Italy.** In the five cap- 

* St. Anastasil, de vitis. Pontific Rom. edit. Bianchini. Roraae 1731. in 
vit. S. Silverii- pag- 84. 

t Ffoii; Sb tavifa 6 Twf tXa;' lyva (xiv pdfitjv tca^iXBlv i j fSa^oj ..... 
"tcv (icv ovv rtfpi^oAOD ev ;twpiotf rtoi^'Kois 'toXTjoii tosovtov xa^uXtv, baov ei 
'tpifrjfiopi.ov tov rtcwtoi fidXtata, i(4,r(tftpav Si t's tdv dixoSojiiMV ■ia, xa'KXm'ta -ti 
xa] oltoXoytoT'afa, t(A.s%%e 'pto/iM^v Se (t.fjx6^otov xoT'atf'f*;tfa(J^ac .... BelluiM 
Gothic. ^ ' p. 289. edit. cit. 

X Ibid. lib. }v. cap. 22 and cap. S3. 

5^ " Totiia dolo Isaurorum ingreditur Romara die xvi. kal. Januarias, 
ac evertit rauros, domos aliquantas comburens, ac oiiines Roruanorum res 
in praedam accepit. Hos ipsos Romanos in Campaniam captivos ab- 
duxit ; post quam devastationem xl aut amplius dies Roma fuit ita deso- 
lata ut nemo ibi liominum wist bestise morarentur. Hinc veniens Belisa- 
rius murorum partem restaurat, venienteque Totiia ad pugnam resistit." 
Marcellini. Chronic, ap. Sirmond. p- 295. edit cit. 

II See a note on the Palatine. 

** Muratori seems to confound the two captures. Annali d'ltalia, torn 
ill. p. 410. 41 1. ad an- 456, and p. 420- ad an. 549. As the Isaurians were 
the traitors on both occasions, the confusion was the more natural ; but it 
certainly was of the second capture that Anastasius spoke in the follow- 
ing words : " Die autem tertia decima Totiia introivit in civitatem Roma- 
nam indict- 14. (13) per portam sancti Pauli. Tota enim nocte fecit buc~ 
cina clangi usque dum cunctus populus fugeret, aut per ecclesias se cela- 

7 



tures of Rome (from 536 to 552) in which she was both at- 
tacked and defended by Barbarians, it is impossible but that 
many of the architectural ornaments of the city must have 
been utterly destroyed or partially injured; and the particular 
mention made by Procopius o( the care taken by Narses to 
restore the capital, is an evidence of the previous injury.* 

With Totila, the dilapidation of Rome by the Barbarians is 
generally allowed to terminate. The incursion of the Lom- 
bards in 578 and 593, completed the desolation of the Cam- 
pagna, but did not affect the city itself. Their king Liut- 
prand in 741 had been absolved from his supposed violence ;1 
but Astolphus in 754 did assault the city furiously, and what- 
ever structures were near the walls must be supposed to havft 
suffered from his attack. J From that period Rome was not 
forcibly entered, that is, not after a siege, until the fall of the 
Carlovingian race, when it was defended by Barbarians in 
the name of the emperor Lambert, and assaulted and taken 
by Barbarians, commanded by Arnulphus, son of Carloman of 
Bavaria (A. D. 896). It has been agreed not to give this in- 
vidious name to the Germans under the Othos, the Henries, 
and the Frederics, or to the Normans of Guiscard ; but it is 
hoped that, without including these spoilers, enough has been 
said to show that the absolution of the earlier Barbarians from 
all charge of injury done to the public edifices of Rome, is 
only one of the many paradoxes which are to be cleared from 
the surface of Italian literature. § 

ret ne gladio Romani vitam finirent. Ingressus autem rex habitavit cum 
Rornanis quam pater cum filiis." In vit. Vigilii- edit, citat. pag. 89. Mu- 
ratori mentions that tlie Isaurians opened the Asinarian gate at the first 
capture, and the gaU of St- Paul at the second, and yet he applies the 
clemency of Totila to his entry by the first, not, as Anastasius says, by 
the second gate. 

* De Bell. Gothic, lib. iv. cap. 34. The bridges of Narses over the 
Anio remain to attest his diligence. 

f Annali d'ltalia, torn. iv. pag. 284. 

I Annali, &c. torn. iv. pag 312. 

5:j " In cio nondimeno che appartiene a' pubblici edificj di Roma, dob- 
biam confessare a gloria de' Barbari stessi, che non troviam prova alcuna 
che da essi fossero . rovinati o arsi" Tiraboschi. Storia della Lett &.c. 
torn. ii. par. i. lib. i. pag. 74. After such an assertion, the learned librarian 
need not have been surprised that the author of the M^moires pour la vie 



53 

Stanza LXXX. 
— the Christian. 

The injuries done by the Christian clergy to the architec- 
tural beauty of Rome, may be divided into two kinds : those 
which were commanded or connived at by the Popes for use- 
ful repairs or constructions, and those which were encouraged 
or permitted from motives of fanaticism. It will be easy to 
make the distinction without the division, and very different 
feelings will be excited by dilapidations for the service of the 
city and for that of the church. 

The conversion of Constantine cannot be denied to have 
changed the destination of many public buildings, and to have 
excited a demand for the ornaments of the baptized Basilica, 
which, we have ocular proof at this day, was satisfied at the 
expense of other edifices. If an arch of Trajan was despoil- 
ed to adorn his triumph, other structures were robbed to con- 
tributjB to the splendour of his conversion.* The figure and 
the decorations of buildings appropriated to the new religion, 
necessarily were partially changed, and that such a change 
was detrimental to their architecture, the early Basilical 
churches still exist as an evidence.! The temples of Rome 
were not universally shut until the edict of Honorius 
(A. D. 399), but an Italian writerj has shown, with some sue- 



de P^trarque (p. 514) exclaimed, " II fautavouer qu'il y a dans voire litte- 
rature des choses singulieres et tout a fait inconcevables." See Storia, 
&ic. tom.v. par. 11. lib. iii. pag. 460. 

* Nardini, Lib. vi. cap. xv. seems to doubt or not to determine this, but 
owns the sculpture is of the time of Trajan. A part of this arch was dug 
up near the column of Trajan in the time of Vacca. 

t Look at the church of St Agnes without the wall^. The Christians 
took or imitated ornaments of all kinds from the temples. In that church 
the pomegranates of Proserpine, the emblem of mortality, are on the ba- 
lustrades of the high altar. A thousand years afterwards, Lcda and the 
Swan were still thought appropriate figures fbr the bronze doors of St 
Peter's. 

X Pietro Lazeri, discorso della consecraziofie «!el Panteone fatta da Bo- 
nifazio IV. Roraa, 1749. pp. 59, 40. 



54 

cess, that Christianity had been actively employed before that 
period in destroying the symbols and haunts of the ancient 
superstition. 

A law of Theodosius the Great ordered the destruction of 
the temples at Alexandria,* and though it has been trium- 
phantly quoted in favour of christian forbearance, that St. Ara- 
broset found the baths, the porticos, and the squares of Rome 
full of idols in 383 ; yet another saint boasts, that in 405 all 
the statues in the temples were overthrown.! The sale of 
the idols in Greece had begun with Constantine.§ The law 
of Honorius, which forbade the destruction of the edifices 
themselves, proves, if any thing, that such an outrage had been 
perpetrated, and was to be apprehended. A prohibitory 
edict must suppose an offence. It is not easy to interpret, in 
more, than one way, the following vvords of St. Jerome : " The 
golden Capitol has lost all its splendour ; the temples of Rome 
are covered with dust and cobwebs ; the very city is moved 
from its foundations, and the overflowing people rush before 
the half torn-up shrines to the tombs of the martyrs. "j| The 
squalid appearance of the Capitol is mentioned in another pas- 
sage of the same writer,** where the temples of Jove and his 

* Socrat. Hist. Ecclesias. lib. v. cap. xvi. The bishop Theophilus 
marched about the town carrying in triumph the phalli taken from the 
Serapeon. 

t " Non illis satis sunt lavacra, non porticus, non platese occupatse simu- 
lacris ?" D. Ambros. epist. cont. Symmach. Lugd. Bat. 1653- p. 455. 
" Eversis in urbe Roma omnibus simulacris." Serm. de verb, erang. cap. 
10. n. 13. in fin- oper. torn, v, par. 1. col. 547. 

t Dissertazionc sulle rovine di Roma, dull' 4^*ate Calo Fea, Storia 
delle Arti, &c. torn- iii p. 2G7 to 416. edit Rom. 1781 The Abate 
strangely quotes St, Ambrose against St. Augustine, who talks of Rome 
eighteen years afterwards. 

§ "Er'i 8i xoLi -tuv RxXrivQv vaovi x%siav xai xa^aipwf xat Sjj/ioatiuwv ta 
iv owfots ayd^iiata. Socrat- Hist. Eccles. lib. i. cap. iii. 

II " Auratum squalet Gapitolium. Fuligine et araneorum telis omnia 
Roma; templa cooperta sunt. Movetur urbs sedibus suis, et inundans po- 
pulus ante delubra semiruta currit ad martyrum tumulos" Epist. cvii. ad 
Lsetara, Hieron. opera, torn. i. p. 672. Ver-on, 1734. Yet this was before 
Christianity could be traced back two generations in Rome. "Fiunt non 
nascuntur Christiani," says the same saint in the same place. 

** " Squalet Gapitolium, templa Jovis et cseremonise conciderunt." Lib. 
$. advers> Jovinian, torn, ii- p. 384. 



55 

eremonies are said metaphorically, or actually, to have fallen 
own. In the year 426, Theodosius the younger ordered the 
estruction of the temples and fanes. A commentator* has 
ndeavoured to reason this away, and another writer has been 
ager to show, that the mandate was addressed to the eastern 
llyricum. To this it may be replied, that it is to be inferred, 
tiat province was thought most attached to paganism, and that 
tie temples had been preserved there, when in the capitals 
ley had been overthrown. An ecclesiastical writer, only 
ivelve years after this law, talks of the order, or of the effect 
f it, as being general ; saying, that " the destruction of the 
iolatrous fanes loasfrora the foundation^ and so complete^ that 
is cotempGraries could not perceive a vestige of the former su- 
erstition.^''^ The same author has a much stronger expres- 
ion in another passage ; " Their temples are so destroyed, that 
he appearance of their form no longer remains, nor can thosv 
f our times recognise the shape of their altars: as for their 
materials, they are dedicated to the fanes of the martyrs.'^''\ The 
•pinion of the Cardinal Baronius is positive to the zeal and 
he destruction. " As soon as this long desired permission of 
ireaking the idols was obtained from the christian prince, the 
ust zeal of the christian people broke out at last in the throw- 
ng down and breaking of the pagan gods." And he before 



* Godefroy, {Gottofredus^ — Dissertazione sulle Rovine, fcc p. 284. 
lOte(C). The words are, " cunctaque eorum fana, templa, delubra, si- 
;ua etiam nunc restant Integra, prsecepto magistratuum destrui, conloca- 
ioneque venerandse Chriatianae religionis signiexpiari praecipiraus" Co- 
lex Theod. lib. xvi. tit. 10. de Pagan, sacrif- et templis leg. 18. 

t TotiT'w ijj svixa xai a/vta T'llij' iiSii^ixCov atjxuJv fa TiEtrto/w.fj'a ex iia^puy 
/mo/tatJ^^ftt rtpoaifa^cv dam foij y.iS' 'tjfidi isojjiivovi fitiSsv tx'^'o.i fijj rtpo- 
•ipai t^axi-trii ^fiitjatj^tit. Theodoriti Episcop. Cyri. Ecclesias. Hist. lib. 
'.cap. 37. p. 243. edit. Amstelod. 1695. He published his history about 
[39. See the preface by Valesius. 

X " Horurp namque templa sic destructa sunt ut ne figurarum quidem 
)ermansit species, nee ararum formam hujus saeculi homines sciant : ha- 
um autem materia omnis martyrum fanis dicata est-" From Theodo- 
et's eighth discourse on the martyrs. The translation of Sirmond is 
|Uoted, the original not being before the writer. 



36 

exclaims, '• It is incredible with what animosity the Faithful at 
Rome leapt upon the idols.* 

After this law, no mention is made in the codes of temples 
or their materials, and if these edifices were legally protected 
up to the time of Justinian, they must be supposed to be in- 
cluded under the head of public buildings. Their protection 
is, however, very doubtful. Temples are not found amongs* 
the wonders admired by Theodoric, except the half stripped 
Capitoline fane is to be enumerated: and Procopius confines 
his notices to the Temple of Peace, which he alludes to cur- 
soiily, as being in the Forum of that name,t and to the Tem- 
ple of Janus, J whose doors there was still enough of pleasantry 
or paganism left in Rome to attempt to open during the dis- 
tress of the Gothic siege. Stilicho§ found no law to prevent 
him or his wife from partially stripping off the ornaments of the 
Capitoline Temple, and the burning of the Sybilline books by 
the same christian hero, evinces the temper of the times. In 
the reign of Justinian, a widow was in possession of the ruins 
of a temple on the Quirinal, and made a present of eight co- 
lumns to the Emperor for his metropolitan St. Sophia. || The 
temples then were partly in private hands, and therefore not 
universally protected as pubhc edifices. The pagan struc- 

* " HsDC semel a christiano principe idola frangendi impetrata diu op- 
tata licentia, exarsit christiani populi Justus zelus in desturbandis confrin- 

gendisque deorum gentilitium simulacris vix credi potest 

quanta animositate Fideles Romae in idola insilierint." Annales Ecclesias. 
cum critice Pagi, torn, vi p. 51. Lucse. 1740- The cardinal talks of a pe- 
riod rather prior even to the date of Theodoret- Temples, in certain pre- 
cincts, were perhaps saved from violence. " Claudian boasts that Hono- 
rius was guarded in the Palatine by the temples of the gods." " Tot cir- 
cum delubra videt,^^ Sic See note on the Palatine. 

f Lib. iv. Bell. Goth. cap. xxi- Maltrito interprete. 

X Lib. i. cap. 2r». ibid- 

\ " Nam Zosimus tradit cum Theodosius Romam venit, hoc scilicet 
anno, Stiliconem ducem utriusijue militise e foribus Capitolii laminas au- 
reas abstulisse, ejusque uxorem Serenam nomine, detraxisse e colioRhese 
deorum matri mundum muliebrem suoque ipsius illigasse coUo." Baron. 
Ann. Eccl- ad an. 389. in loc et edit citat. For the burning the Sybilline 
books, see the same place, and the Iter of Rutilius. 

II Winkelmann, Osservazioni suH' architettura degli antichi. cap. ii. see. 
4. p. 88. note (B). Dissertazione, k.c- p. 302. note (D), torn. iii. of Fea's 
translation. 



57 

ures would naturally suffer more at the first triumph of Chris- 
ianity than afterwards, when the rage and the merit of destruc- 
ion must have diminished. And after the danger of a relapse 
vas no longer to be feared, it is not unlikely that some of the 
)recious vestiges of the ancient worship might be considered 
mder the guard of the laws. In this way we may account for 
he permission asked in one instance to despoil a temple for the 
>rnament of a church ;* a circumstance which is quoted to 
how the care of those structures, but which is surely as fair a 
»roof of their neglect.t The consecration of the Pantheon did 
lot take place until 609 or 610, two hundred years after the 
hutting of the temples ; and that event is allowed to be the 
irst recorded instance of a similar conversion. If many of the 
mmense number of fanes and temples had been preserved en- 
ire until that time, it is probable that the example Avould have 
»een followed in more cases than we know to have been adopl- 
;d. The Christians found the form of the Basilica much more 
uitable to their worship than that of the temple. They did 
lot consecrate a single sacred edifice for more than two hun- 
Ired years after the triumph of their religion. They cannot 
)e proved to have ever taken the entire form of more than four 
>r five. I What was the fate of the remainder ? We hear of 
ifty-six churches built upon the sites, or supposed sites, of 
emples.§ Is it then too rash to believe that so many stru( - 
ures which we know to have disappeared at an early period, 
vhich were abandoned, which were regarded as an abomina- 
ion, and which tradition declares to have stood upon the sites 

" " Hie cooperuit ecclesiam omnem ex tegulis sereiis quas levavit de 
eraplo, quod appellatur Romae [Rorauli] ex consensu piissimi Heraclei 
inperatoris." Anastas. in vit- Honorii I. p. 96. torn. i. edit, citat. The 
emple is called the temple of Romulus in Via Sacra, in the life of Paul 
. p. 175. torn. i. fcc. The church which gained by the robbery was St- 
*eter's. 

t Dissertazione, fac- p. 286. 

I The Pantheon, Cosmas and Damianus, St- Theodorej St. Stephano 
ii Rotundis (perhaps), St. Maria, Egizziaca (doubtful), the supposed tem- 
tle of Vesta on the Tiber, St- Hadrian (the facade torn off]. Can any 
»ther be mentioned ? 

^ See De templis gentilitium in templa divorum mutatis, cap. ix. Georg. 
'^abricii, Descriptio Romse ap. Grser. Antiq. Roraao. torn. iii. p. 462. 



58 

of churches, were despoiled, for the most part, by the zeal of 
the early Christians, and their materials employed to the ho- 
nour of the triumphant religion ? It is particularly told of 
Gregory 111., that he finished a chapel to certain martyrs in 
ruins.* Most of the lives of the early Popes inAnastasius con- 
sist of little else than the building of churches. Those of Ha- 
drian I., Leo III., and Gregory IV., occupy many pages with 
the mere enumeration of their names. t Both piety and eco- 
nomy Avould prompt the spoliation of the nearest ancient struc- 
tures connected with the old superstition ; and the only indul- 
gence shown to the pagan deities was, when their baptism 
might, by a little distortion, intrust their fanes to the protec- 
tion of a similar saint. J 

The more prominent symbols of the ancient religion would 
"hardly be suffered to stand after the temples were shut. Da 
Barga asserts as a fact, that there were marks on the obelisks 
of their having been all overthrown, with the exception of 
one, which was not dedicated to any of the false gods of an- 
tiquity. § However, Constantius erected one of these monu- 
ments, || and two were standing in the IXth century, if we are 
to credit a barbarous regionary of that period.** Da Barga 

* " Csemetcrium beatorum martyrum Januarii, Urbani, Tiburtii, Vale- 
riavii, et Maximi, et eorum tecta in ruinis posita perfecit." Anastas. in 
vit. Gre!;or- III- p- 145. torn. i. edit citat We find Pope John III. after- 
wards livinj^ in this cemetery. 

f See an account of the rapid building of churches by the Popes after 
Oregory III. in Donatus. Roma vetus, lib. iv. cap. viii- 

X Thus Romulus and Remus became Cosmas and Damianus. Romu- 
lus, a foundling and a warrior, and a healer of young children, was 
chatiged for St. Theodore, a foundling and warrior, and also healer of 
children. Mars had not a violent metamorphosis to reappear as St. Mar- 
tina ; but there is some doubt of the latter conversion. 

^ That of the Vatican, See de privatorum publicorumque, &c, p. 
1891, in loco citato. " Neque enim existimare possumus cjeteros obe- 
liscos vel terrse motu vel fulmine dejectos esse cum vectium et ferramen- 
torum vestigia, quibus evarsi sunt adhuc extant in infimse partis lateribus 
i\ux basim spectant." 

H That now standing before the Lateran. 

** The pyramid of Sallust, and the pyramid near St. Lorenzo in Luci- 
aan. The regionary is quoted afterwards-. 



59 

extends his praise of the pontiffs to the destruction of the 
tlieatres and circuses, the frequenting of which, dedicated a3 
tliey were to false gods, Lactantius and Tertulhan thought 
equally nefarious with sacrificing to Jove or Serapis. We 
know that an attempt was made to put the Circensian games 
at Rome under new patronage, hut that they were entirely 
discontinued in the year 496, when the people declared they 
would not have Jesus Christ in the place of Mars, and the 
provision for the festival was distributed to the poor.* The 
same writer, after a diligent study of the fathers, and having 
commenced with the contrary opinion, is convinced that 
Gregory the Great was the chief instrument of this destruc- 
tion, and notably of the Circus Maximus, near which he built 
a church. t The Circus, however, is recorded by the region- 
ary of the IXth century.j: The baths, a greater abomina- 
tion, he is also convinced owed their destruction to the same 
piety, and those of Diocletian and Caracalla showed in his 
time evident marks of human violence. He adds, that there 
is no proof of these immense structures having been ruined by 
earthquakes, and to this it may be subjoined, that when the 
Roman families of the middle ages had occupied the Coliseum 
and other ancient monuments, they did not take possession of 
the baths, with the exception of those of Constantine on the 
Quirinal. The last mention of them in any way that can 
make us suppose them entire, is in the regionary of the IXth 
century. Their precious materials, statues, and marble coal- 
ings and columns, would naturally be carried away when th^ 
"baths had ceased to be frequented ; but some violence must 
have been necessary to throw down so large a portion of their 
masses : nor could this be done for tlie sake of grinding dowrk 
their materials, which are of brick. So early as the tenth 
^entury, there were three churches built in the Alexandrine 

■^' BHi'oriius, Annal. Ecclesias. ad an. 496. p. COG. torn. viii. edit, citat. 

f De privatorum publicorumque, &tc. p. 1389. 

X The last vestiges of the Circus Maximus were carried away about the 
time of Paul V. See Vedute degli Antichi Vestigj di Roma di A16 Cie^ 
rannili, in the plate representing those ryins. 



60 

baihs,* which must therefore have been previously in ruins. 
It must be confessed, at the same time, that the evidence 
against the Christians is not equally strong when applied to the 
theatres and thcrma;, as it appears to be referring to the 
temples. As the defence of Gregory the Great has been suc- 
cessfully undertaken against his principal accuser, it is of lit- 
tle moment to mention that a Monsignor Segardi, in a speech 
which he recited in the Capitolt in 1 703, was bold enough to 
state and enforce his belief of all the charges made against 
the saint, none of which can be traced higher than nearly six 
centuries after his death. | The discouragement of mathesis, 
whether it meant magic or profane learning in general, would 
be only a presumptive proof of the tasteless ignorance or cre- 
dulity of the pontiff; and a more satisfactory argument than 
the silence of his biographers may be deduced from the be- 
lief that Gregory had but little time or means for the build- 
ing of churches, and consequently for the spoliation of an- 
cient edifices. He is not to be suspected of wanton violence, 
for the destruction of buildings is the subject of one of the 
complaints with which he bewails the wretchedness of the 
times. § A large column was, however, transferred in thost- 
days, (608) from some other structure to the Forum, and de- 

* Roma ex etiinica sacra. Martinelli, cap. ix. p. 1 C7, quoted in Dis- 
sertaaione, &lc. p. 353. 

f Prose d«gli Arcadi, torn. i. p. 126. Dissertazione, p. 287, note (H.) 

I Jacob. Bruckcr, Historia; critica; philosophic, from page 833 to 
page GTH, edit. Lips. 1768. sect. iii. de nat. et indole et modo Phil. Schol. 
in appcndice. Do what he will, Brucker cannot trace any of the stories, 
the suppression of luathesis, the statue-breaking, or library-burning, 
hi^^lier than John of Salisbiny. He made a great mistake in calling Gre- 
gory the master of John Diaconiis, who lived two centuries afterwards, 
and is reproved by Tiraboschi. Storia, &.p. torn. iii. lib. ii. p. 99 to p. 114. 
edit. Venet. 1705- The story of his throwing down the statues can only 
be traced to Leo of Orvii^tto, a Dominican writer of the XlVth century- 
See Testimonia t|Uorundam veterum scriptorum de St. Gregorio Papa, 
at the end of the Venice edition of St. Gregory's works ; and St. Gre- 
gorius Magnus vindicatus, by Gian Girolamo Gradenigo, in the xvith 
volume. 

^:j " Ipsa quoque destrui aedificia videmus." Homilia in Ezechielemi 
lib. ii. horn. yi. p. 70. torn. v. 0pp. omn. Venet. 1776. 



61 

dicated to the murderer Phocas. The successors of Gregory 
were less scrupulous, it should seem, than himself. We 
have seen that Houorius I. removed the gilt tiles from the 
temples of Romulus. Gregory III. employed nine columns 
of some ancient building for the church of St. Peter.-' 
The rebuilding of the city walls by four Popes in the same 
jcentury (Vlllth), Sisinius, Gregory 11. wad III. and St, Adria4;i 
I. was an useful but destructive operation.! Their lime-kilns 
must have been supplied from the ancient city. It is to a 
presumed necessity, and not to superstition, that the succeed- 
ing spoliation of the ancient works of art by the Popes must 
chiefly be attributed ; but it will be observed that the embel- 
lishment of the christian churches was the chief motive for 
this destruction, and consequently ranks it in the class at pre- 
sent under examination. Pope Hadrian I., by the infinite la- 
bour of the people employed during a whole year, threw 
down an immense structure of Tiburtine stone to enlarge the 
church of St. Maria in Cosmedin.J Donus I. (elected in 
676) had before stripped the marble from a large pyramid be- 
tween the Vatican and the castle of St. Angclo, vulgarly 
known by the name of the tomb of Scipio.§ The spoil was 
laid on the floor of the atrium of St. Peter. The history of 
the middle ages cannot be supposed to have preserved many 
such precise records ; but the times after the return of the 

* Anastas. in vit. St- Greg. II. 

t " Qui et calcarias pro restauratione murorum jussit decoqueie.'' 
Anastas. in vit. Sisinii, p. 127. torn. i. edit, citat. He was Pope in 708. 
" Hie exordio Pontificatus sui calcarias decoqui jussit, et a porta sanctl 
Laurentii inchoans hiijus civitatis muros restaurare decreverat, et aliquanj 
partem faciens emergentibus incongruis, variisque tumultibus, priepiditus 
est." Ibid, in vit. St. Gregorii II. who was Pope from 714 to 731. 
"Hujus temporibus pluriraa pars murorum hujus civitatis Romans ro- 
stuarata sunt." Ibid, in vit. Gregorii III. p. 145. See also the same in 
vit, St. Hadriani, p. !£10. Gregory was Pope from 731 to 740 — Hadrian 
from 772 to 794. 

I " Nam maximum monumentum deTiburtino tufo super earn depen- 
dens per anni circulum plurimum multitudinem populi congrucns multo- 
rumque lignorum struem incendens demolitus est." Anastas. in vit St. 
Hadriani, I. p. 214. edit, citat : he repeats it in the next page. 

^ Nardini, Roma Ant. lib. vii. cap. xiji. 



62 

Popes fronl Avignon are sufficiently eloquent. Paul II.* em- 
ployed the stones of the Coliseum to build a palace. Sixtus 
IV. took down a temple, supposed by Pomponius Laetus that 
of Hercules, near St. Maria, in Cosmedin ;t and the same 
pontiff destroyed the remains of an ancient bridge to make 
400 cannon balls for the castle of St. Angelo.| Alexander 
VI. § threw down the pyramid which Donus had stripped to 
make a way for his gallery between the Vatican and the cas- 
tle of St. Angelo. Paul III. and his nephews laboured in- 
cessantly at the quarry of the Coliseum. This pope apphed 
liimself to the Theatre of Marcellus, to the Forum of Tra- 
jan, to a temple usually called of Pallas, opposite the Temple 
of Faustina, to that temple itself, to the Arch of Titus, and 
to a large mass of ancient work which he levelled to the 
ground in the Piazza del Popolo,|| and had not the excuse of 
piety for this wide devastation. 

Sixtus V. carried away the remains of the Septizonium of 
Severus for the service of St. Peter's, and a cotemporary 
positively mentions that he threw down certain statues still 
remaining in the Capitol.** Urban VIII. took off the bronze 

* See Donatus, Roma Vetus, lib. iv. cap. ix. for Paul II. who reigned 
from 1464 to 1470. 

f Donatus, &i.c. lib. £. cap. 25. 

X Sts'phen Infcssura, Diar. Urb. Rom. says this happened in 1484. The 
bridge was callt^d that of Horatius Codes, " e le dette palle furono fa- 
bricate a marmorata dove fu finito di distruggere un ponte di travertino 
Totto, il quale si chiamava il ponte di Orazio Codes." Scriptores Rer,. 
Italic, lorn, iii part ii. p. 1178. 

5^ The pyramid was bigjjjer than that of Cestius, was mentioned by 
Blondus, Fulvius, and Marlianus, and is seen on the bronze doors of St. 
Peter's. Nardini. lib. vii- cap. xiii. Alexander reigned from 1490 to 
1503. 

II Venuti,Roma Moderna. Rione x. p. 3.53. torn, ii Donatus, lib. iv., 
cap. ix. Dissertazione sulle rovine, inc. p. 399. Paul III. began to reign 
'in 1.533, and died in 1549. 

** Da Barga. Commentarius de Obelisco. ap. Grffiv. Antiq. Roman, in 
loc. ritat pHg. 1931. He mentioned this to the honour of Sixtus, to 
whom he dedicated his commentary, and he believed it an i" itufion of 
th • conduct of Gregory the Great and others. " Quorum pietatem 
-Pius V, et Sixtus V. Pontifices Max. sic imitati sunt, ut eorum alter 



from the portico of the Pantheon* to make cannon for the 
castle of St. Angelo, and to construct the confessional of St. 
Peter. He took away also some of the base of the sepulchre 
of Cecilia Metella for the fountain of Trevi.t Paul V. re- 
moved the entablature and pediment of a structure in thq 
Forum of Nerva for his fountain on the Janiculum, and trans- 
ported the remaining column of the Temple of Peace to deco- 
rate the place before St. Maria Maggiore.J Lastly, Alexander 
VII. took down the arcR commonly called " di Portogallo" in 
order to widen the Corso.§ A little more taste and ingenui- 
ty might surely have preserved the monument and yet im- 
proved the modern street. The inferior clergy were, it is 
probable, much more guilty than the pontiffs, and a volume 
of no inconsiderable bulk has been composed by one of their 
own order to enumerate the pagan materials applied to the 
use of the church. || As long as the ancient monuments were 

ex sedibus Vaticanis hujusmodi omnes statuas alio amandare cogitaverat, 
alter e turre capitolina incredibili sua cum laude dejici jusserit." See his 
Treatise on the Destroyers of Rome, &.c. p. 1887. in loco citat. 
* See note on the Pantheon. 

f Echinard. Agro. Romano, p, 295. edit. 1750. Yet Mr. Gibbon says 
he has nothing else to allege against this pope than the punning sayingi 
" Quod non fecerunt barbari fecerunt Barbarini." Cap. Ixxi. p. 424. torn, 
xii. 
I Venuti Roma Moderna. Rione. I. p. 47. torn. i. 
^ The remains of this arch are seen in Donatiis, fig 32. He (lib. iii.) 
thought it of Drusus, but without reason. See Nardini, (lib. vi. cap. ix.) 
Alexander VII. was so proud of this destruction that he chose to record 
it by an inscription which is here given, because it is esteemed the best 
specimen of lapidary writing in Rome. 

Alex. VII. Pontiff. Max. 
Viam latam feriatse urbis hippodromum 
Qua interjectis ajdificiis impeditam 
Qua procurrentibus deformatam 
Liberam rectamque reddidit 
Publicse commoditati et ornamento. 
Anno. Sal. mdc. lxv. 
The has reliefs on the arch are now in the Capitoline palace of the Con- 
servatori. 

|] Marangonj, delle cose gentilesche e profane Irasporte ad vso e ornanitnfo 
delle cJiicsa : see also Fioravante MartineUij Roma ex tihnica sacrch. 



(i4 

considered the property of that church, it does not appear 
that any protection was granted to them, and a writer, who is 
in son^e degree an advocate for the clergy, has heen obUged 
to confess that when the ruins were in possession of the mo- 
dern senate and people, they were less subject to spoliation 
than in preceding periods.* The superstition of the cleqi;y 
and people at large prevented them from attributing a pro- 
portionate value to objects not connected with their eccle- 
siastical legends ; and when the relics of the ancient city had 
begun to be regarded with somewhat less indifference, they 
seem to have been respectable from some pious fablet attach- 
ed to their sites rather than by any antiquarian importance. 
Even the great Sixtus Quintus could not restore an obelisk 
without affixing an inscription devoted to the purposes of re- 
ligious imposture. I The very study of the ancient relies is 
perverted, and rendered subservient to church fable. Cardi- 
nal Baronius, for the sake of finding St. Peter's prison at St, 
.N'iccolas i7i carccre, distorted the position of the Roman Fo- 
rum : and Nardini himself, in other respects so incredulous, 
affirms that there is a certain tradition of the confinement of 
that apostle in the Mamertine dungeon, and of the fountain 
springing up for the baptizement of his Jailer*§ What were 
the merits of the latter pontiffs in the preservation of the an- 
cient fabrics will be seen in another place : the above remarks 

* The Abate Fea in his dissertation. 

f See the above cited collection of designs, entitled Vedute degli Anti- 
chi Vestigj di Roma, di Alo Giovannili, drawn in the time of Paul 
V. : every picture is enlivened by a massacre of martyrs, or a miracle, or 
a dedication of a church. The "Vestal \vith her sieve, and Curtius leap- 
ing into the gulf, are the only heathen fictions or facts honoured with any 
notice. 

\ Christum. Domioum 
Quern Augustus 
De Virgine 
Nasciturum 
Vivens adoravit 
Seque deinceps 
Dominum 
Dici vetuit 
Adoro. 
^ Nardini, lib. v. cap. xi. See a note on the Roman piety. 



65 

may have served to show how far their predecessors and the 
religion of which they were the chiefs are to be taken into 
account in treating of the ruin and neglect of these ven- 
erable monuments. 

Stanza LXXX. 

Time, war, Jlood, and Jirt 
Have dealt upon the seven-hilled dly's pride. i 

The agency of the Barbarians and of the catholic religion 
is far from being an adequate cause for so little being left of 
that city which was called the epitome of the universe.* It 
is proposed, therefore, to take a cursory view of the general 
progress of decay arising from other causes of destruction. 

A tremendous fire in the year 700 or 703 of the city had 
made it necessary to rebuild the greater part of Rome.j 
This was undertaken by Augustus, and the famous eulogium 
on the grandeur of his restoration! shows what materials were 
a prey to the fire of Nero, from which only four regions es- 
caped untouched, and which was fatal to the most venerable 
fanes and trophies of the earlier ages.§ We may conclude 
from a passage of Tacitus, that so early as the reign of Vi- 
tellius a work belonging to the time of the republic was a 
rare object. || The fire and civil war which destroyed the 
Capitol during that reign, that which raged for three days 
and nights under Titus,** the conflagration in the thirteenth 

* "ETtcfojiMj t^s o'lxHfihfii is an expression of Athenaeus, quoted in one 
of the topographers, Julius Minutulus. 

f Orosii, Hist. lib. vi. cap. xiv. and lib. vii. cap. ii. Fourteen vici were 
consumed. 

t " He found it brick, he left it marble ;" or, as Dion says, T»jv 'P^fir^v 
yvjivijv rCapaTM^utv T.i^i'vriv vjmv xata'Ksi.Ttu). Hist. Rom. lib. Ivi. pag. 82y. 
tom. ii. edit. Hamb. 1750. What is said of Themistocles is a much finer 
eulogium. "Oj iTtoi/iqsi 't'ijv TioXiv ijfiCJv fisat'^v tvpuv ertvxc^T^^, Aristoph. 
Equit. V. 811. " He made our city full, having found it empty." 

^ Sueton. in vit. Neronis. Tacit. AnnaL lib. xv. cap. 38, S9, 40, 41. 

y " Lutatii Catuli nomen inter tanta Cepsarum opera usque ad Vitelliura 
mansit." Hist. lib. iii. cap. 72. 

** Sueton. ia vit. Titi. 



4S 

year of Trajan, which consumed a part of the Forum and of 
the golden house of Nero,* must have contributed to the 
obhteration of the ancient city ; and if there was scarcely 
any relic of republican Rome when Tacitus wrote, it may 
be suspected that the capital even of the first Caesars had 
begun to disappear at an earlier period than is usually ima- 
gined. The temples under the Capitol bear witness to the 
falls and fires which had required the constant attention and 
repair of the senate,t and became more common after the 
transfer of the seat of government to Constantinople. Po- 
pular tumults were then more frequent and injurious. In 
one which occurred in the year 312 the Temple of Fortune 
was burnt down.| The Palace of Symmachus,§ that of the 
prefect Lampadius, in 367, and, it is probable, the Baths of 
Constantine, each suffered by the same violence ; and an in- 
scription which records the repair of the latter informs us 
also how small were the means of the senate and people for 
restoring the ancient structures. || The destruction must not 

* G. Sincellus in Chronog. p. S47. quoted in Dissertazione, &.c. p. 293. 

f D- N Constantino . Maximo . Pic . Felici . ac . Triuniphatori . stm- 
por . Augusto . ob . amplificatam . toto . orbe . rem . publicam . factis . 
consiliisque . S. P. Q. R. Dedicante . Anicio . Paulino . Juniore . C V.. 
Cos ord. Pi-jef urbi. S- P. Q. R. 

jEdem . Concordiee • vetustate . collapsam . in . meliorem . faciem 
opere . et • cultu . splendidiore . restitueruut- 

This inscription was found near the ruins under the Capitol, and trans- 
ferred to the Lateran, whence it has disappeared. 

The words now reraainit)g on the frieze of the same supposed Temple 
of Concord are 

Senatus Populusque Romanus 
Incendio consumptura Restituit. 
The other temple of three columns, called now Jupiter Tonans, has the 
letters estitver. 

X Annali d' Italia, ad. an. 312. tom. ii. p. 312. Muratori quotes Zosimus^ 
lib. ii. c. l.S. and would make us put this fire to the charge of religion 

,^ Aram. Marcellinus, lib. xxvii. cap. iii. p. 523 edit- Lugd Bat- 1693., 
" Hie praifectus [Lumpadii] exngitatus est mot buscebris, uno omnium 
maximo cum coliecta picbs infima, domum ejus prope Con.tantinianmn 
lavacrum injectis facibus incendciat et malleolis," kc Ibid. 

II Yid. Nardini, lib. iv. cap vi. " Petronius Perpenna magnus Quadra-, 
tianus V. C- et Inl. Prcef Urb Constaniinianas thernias longa incuria et 
abolcndse civilis vel potius fcralis cladiij vastatione vchementur adflictas 



^7 

be confined to one element. The Tiber, which Augustus* 
cleansed, which Trajan deepened, and Aurelian endeavoured 
to^restrain by a mound, t rose not unfrequently to the walls, 
and terrified the pious cruelty of the Romans into persecu- 
tion.J The repeated notices of inundation will be seen to 
form part of the melancholy annals of the declining capital ; 
but the decay of the city was hastened not only by these na- 
tural evils and by the violence of hostile conflicts within the 
walls, § but by the silent dilapidation of ancient structures, 
both private and public, which appears to have been a de- 
linquency as early as the beginning of the fourth century, and 
to have been prohibited afterwards by successive imperial 
laws. The removal of the emperors to Constantinople en- 
couraged the spoliation, and if it were possible to ascertain 
the list of all the ornaments of Rome which were transferred 
to the seat of empire, there might be a better justification for 
those who attribute the ruin of the old to the rise of the new" 
capital. II The departure of many of the principal families 
for the banks of the Bosporus had emptied a portion of the' 
patrician palaces. The public structures we know were not 
entirely spared, when it was requisite to record the triumph 
of Constantine ;** and the debasement of the arts having left 
the Romans no other resource than the application of former 
trophies to their present sovereign, the same flattery which 
robbed an arch of Trajan may have despoiled many other 

ita ut^gnitione sui ex omni parte perdita dcsperationem cunctis repara- 
tionis adferrent deputato ab amplissirao ordine parvo sumptu quantum 
publicse patiebantur angustise ab extremo vindicavit occasu et provisione 
largissima in pristinam faciem splendoremque restituit" 

* Sueton. in vit. Augusti. cap. xxx- 

t " Tyberinas extruxi ripas- Vadura alvei tumentis eiFodi." Vopisc. 
in vit. Aureliani, p. 215. Aid. edit 1519. 

I " Tyberis si ascendit ad msenia ; si Nilus non ascendit in arva: si 
ccelum stetit, si terra mo vit, si fames, si lues, statim Christianosad Leones" 
Tertull. Apolog. cap. xlii. 

5^ A battle was fought on the Cselian hill in tlje reign of Aurelian. De- 
cline and Fall, cap. xi. torn. ii. oct. p. 51. . 

II " Ut non immerito dixeris, non a barbaris, sed prius a Constantino 
eversam fuisse Romam." Isa. Vossii de magnitudine Romae Veteris. ap. 
Grsev. Antiq. Roman, tom. iv. p. 1507. p. 1516 cap. vii. 

** See page 72, note 1. 

9 



68 

monuments tcr decorate the chosen city of the conqueror. 
'^^('Iie laws of the codes* speak of ruins and edifices in decay, 
uhich, we may collect from prohibiting clauses, it was the 
custom not to restore but to pillage for the service of new 
buildings. Such was the disorder in the reign of Valens and 
Valcnlinian, that private individuals had seized upon the 
public granaries : columns and marbles were transported from 
one city to another, and from one service to another. A law- 
above referred to for the year 364, when quoted in the Jus- 
tinian code, contains a singular expression not before remark- 
ed, by Mhich it would appear that at an early period there 
was an old distinct from a nexo Rome.t The regionaries do 
not notice the distinction, and the commentators object to the 
phrase ; but it seems very probable that the migration from 
the mounts to the Campus Martins had commenced after the 
repeated sack and sieges of the city, and the causes of decay 
before commemorated, had encumbered the ancient site with 

* XI. Impp. Valentinianus et Valens A A ad Symmachum P. U. 
" Intra uvbeni Romam eternam nullus Judicum novum opus informet : 
quotiens serenitatis nostrae arbitria ccssabuiit : ea tamen instaurandi cjua^ 
jam deformibus ruinis intercidisse dicuiitm- univcrsis liccntiam damus" 
Dat. viii. kalend- Jun. Philippis- Divo Joviano ct Varroniano Coss. [A- D. 
m-\\ lilt. XV. tit. 1. Codex Theodos. edit. Mant. 1 768. p. 261. The law is 
repeated the next year. The next law mentions the seizure of the gra- 
naries. By several other laws of the code under the same title, it appears 
that the pul>lic buildings in the provinces were also falling to decay. The 
following law speaks more strongly of the decay and the spoliation at 
Rome- 

XIX. Impp. Valens, Gratianus, et Valentinianus A A A ad senatum; 
Nemo prffifectorum urbis aliorumve judicum, quos potestas in excelso 
locat, opus aliquod novum in urbe Roma indyta moliatur, sed excolendis 
vetcribus intendet animura. Novum quoijue opus qui volet in urbe moliri, 
sua pecunia, suis opibus absolvat, non contractis veteribus eraolumcntis, 
non eflossis nobilium operum substructionibus, non redivivis de publico 
sftxis, non marmorum frustis spoliatarum a^dium reformatione convulsis. 
Lecta ill Senatu. Valente V. et Valentiniano. A A. Coss. [A. D. 376 ] 
Read dcformaiione, according to three editions, p. 269. The Laws xxTii. 
and xxix. of the same title are to the same purpose. 

t Vid. Cod Justin, lib. viii. tit xii. torn. ii. pag. 471. edit Gotting. 1797. 
which repeats the law above, beginning " Intra urbem Romam I'e/ere^H et 
jjoram," and inserts " nisi ex siiis pecuniis hujusmodi opus construrf- 
voluerit." 



69 

Tulns. - The Campus Martius had been surrounSed by th>v 
wall of Aurelian, and from that time it may be supposed tha 
the vast fields, the groves of the Augustan mausoleum, thi 
innumerable porticos, the magnificent temples, the circus, 
and the theatre of that district,* were gradually displaced, 
or choked up by the descending city. As late as the reign oi 
Valentinian III. we find mention made of the Campus Mar- 
tius as if it were still an open placet Yet it is possible that 
the quarter preserved the name, as at present, long after it 
had lost its original appearance and destination. 

It is not to be overlooked, that in the reign of Constantius. 
the architectural wonders of the city were still sufficient to 
astonish a stranger ;| that when the regionaries wrote under 
Valentinian, § a pompous list of public monuments might still 
be collected for the admiration and confusion of posterity ;|i 
that when Alaric took the town, the private houses contained 
the buildings of a whole city ;** and that even after that cala- 
mity the old age of Rome was more attractive than the 
youth of any other capital. There was, doubtless, still 
enough left to confer the palm upon the ancient metropolis, tt 
whose ruins at this day form a striking contrast with the few 
relics of the second capital. The stranger could not per- 

* See a beautiful description of it in Strabo, lib. v. 

t He was killed in the Campus Martius, according to Cassiodorus and 
Victor Tutonensis ; but Prosper, in liis Chronicle, names another place 
called the two Laurels. Annali d'ltalia, ad an 455. torn- iii- p. 163. 

X " Deinde intra scptem montium culraina, per acclivitates planitiem- 
que posita urbis membra collustrans et suburbana, quiquid viderat pri- 
mum, id erainere ante aliacuncta sperabat," &c. he. Amm. Marcel lib. 
xvi. cap. X. p. 145. Lugd. Bat. 1693. 

^ He was elected Emperor in S64, and died in 875. 

11 The two regionaries, Rufus and Victor, occupy twelve pages, in 
double column, of the folio Thesaurus of Graevius, tom. iii. 

tavtip, oftoaa fto^ii ffti/itjitsr'poj '^Svvaio Ixn^v. Olympiod. ap Phot. Bibliotii. 
edit. 1653, p. 198, 

'E/5 Jojitoj aatv rts'^ft, rtoXti oifta fwpia x«v&ft — 
ft Manuel Chrysoioras made a comparison between Rome and Con- 
stantinople : he did not believe what he had heard of Rome, but found 
that her very ruins were a sufficient proof of her former superiority. 
This was in 1464, at least his book has that date. f5ee Museiira Italic 
p. 96, tom. i. 1724; 



70 

ceive what was lost : the native still flattered himself that 
everj injiirj might be repaired ; and such was the stability of 
the larger monuments, that to the poet and consul Ausonius, 
at the end of the fourth century, Rome was still the golden, 
the eternal city.* In the panegyrics, however, of her last 
admirers, we may trace her decay. The private palaces, 
which are celebrated by Olympiodorus, have no encomium 
from the poet who survived the ravage of Genserick, and 
who still extols the baths of Agrippa, of Nero, and of Dio- 
cletian.t The care and admiration of Theodoric were di- 
rected to those objects whose solidity or whose position pro- 
tected them from sudden dissolution, but which were still 
shaken by violence of age. J Cassiodorus confesses that his 
master, the lover of architecture, § the restorer of cities, 
could only repair decently the tottering remnants of anti- 
quity. |I He owns, also, the partial abandonment, whilst he 
laments the rapid decay and fall of the ancient habitations.** 
In the interval between the encomiums of Cassiodorus and 
the notices which Procopius Las left of the miracles of Rome,tt 
the aqueducts had been broken ;ij the thermas, the amphi- 

* Epijrfammata quatuor, Sic. Auson. Op. pp. 78, 80, edit. Burdigal. 
" Prima urbes inter Divum domus, aurea Roma." 

Clarse urbes, p. 195. 
t " Hinc ad balnea non Neroniana 
" Nee quae Agrippa dedit, vel ille cujns 
" Bustum Dalmaticse vident Salonae," &c. 
Sidon. ApoU. Carmen ad Consentium, 23. written 466. Dissertazione, 
&c. p. 271. 

t The Palatine had been occupied by the troops of Genserick, the 
Theatre of Pompey had been injured by fire, and was in decay — quid 
non solves O senectus, qua; tam robusta quassati .^ Cassiod. var. lib. iv. 
epist. 51. 

{ " Amator fabricarum, restaurator civium." Excerpta de Theod. 
auctoris ignoti in fine Amm. Marcell. 

II " Et nostris temporibus videatur antiquitas decentius innovata." Var- 
epist. 51. lib. iv. 

** " Facilis est sedificiorum ruina incolarum substracta custodia et cito 
vetustatis decoctione resolvitur, quod hominum prsesen tia non tuetur." 
ft De Bello Gothico, lib. i. cap. xix. 

XI The population must have been much diminished, since the Tiber 
was esteemed insalubrious, and the wells of Rome had been found in- 
sufficient for the people of Rome .nee the year 441, A. U- C. See Jul. 
Frontin. de acquaeduct- lib. i. ap. Greev. Antiq. Roman, torn, iv- 



71 

theatre, the theatres, had all been abandoned, and the ad- 
miration of the historian is confined to the tomb of Hadrian,* 
to the infinite number of statues,t the works of Phidias, 
Lysippus, and Miron, and to the solicitude with which the 
Romans preserved as much as possible the more stable edi- 
fices of their city, and, amongst other objects, a venerable 
relic of their Trojan parent.^ Even these detached orna- 
ments must have been much diminished during the Gothic 
sieges. The Greek soldiers were not restrained from fling- 
ing down the statues of the mole of Hadrian on the heads of 
their assailants ;§ and Belisarius must have demohshed not 
only such smaller materials, but many a contiguous structure, 
for his repeated rebuilding of the walls. We have other 
decided proofs of the early desertion and decline of the 
Caesarean city. An edict of Majorian specifies as a common 
offence, that those who built houses had recourse to the an- 
cient habitations, which could not have been dilapidated in 
the presence of a resident population, and which we know 
by the same edict to have been abandoned to the feeble pro- 
tection of the laws. II The same fact is deducible from an- 
other prohibition, which forbade the extraction of precious 
metals from the ancient structures, a crime noticed before 

* De Bello Gothico, lib. i. cap. xxii- 

t De Bello Gothico, lib. iv. cap. xxiii. 

J " 'Ot yt xac Tio'Kvv twa ^sfiapapiofjievot diwi/a, tdi'ts jtoXtoi SuaJxiavto 
oixoSoiuai, xa.1 tuv iyxaXKuHtafid'toiv td ifKeiata 6aa olov ■tt mi' AJP°*'9 *^ 
torso/vrc^ to /MJxof, xai T'9 art'rifii%n.a^ai, 6t apef^i' tutv rCeT(oi,7]ftivoiv avtex^V 
"s'tijjkiv tot xai 6(Sa [ivrj^ha tov yivovi ijJXsirtto ttv ' iv T'otj xdi, ij vavi dcveiov, 
tw trji TtoXc^i olxidtm), xai tl; toSs xsCtai,, ^eafia ftavti^ilii dttiotov. 
TotSwavij^'. pag. 553. edit. 1607. cap. xxii. of the translation. The 
due weight must be given to these words : but the solidity of the structure 
seems, after all, the chief protection of the buildings. 

} De Bollo Gothico, lib. i. cap. xxii. The Faun was found when 
Urban VIII cleansed the ditch of the castle. 

II Majorian reigned from 457 to 461. " Antiquarum sedium dissipatur 
speciosa constructio ; et ut aliquid reparatur, magna diruuntur. Hinc 
jam occasio nascitur ut etiara unusquisque privatum aedificium con- 

struens, per gratiam judicum prsesumere de publicis locis neces- 

saria, et transferre non dubitet." This is quoted in the Decline and Fall, 
fee. cap. xxxvi. p. 175. vol. vi. oct. note 0. 



72 

the end of the fourth century,* and one of the evils which 
the regulations of Theodoric were intended to prevent.! 
This rapine supposes a solitude. In the subsequent periods 
of distress, when every precious object had been removed 
from above ground, the plunderers searched for subterranean 
treasures, and tore up the lead of the conduits. J The mere 
necessities of existence became the only care of a wretched 
population, from whom it would be unreasonable to expect 
either taste or attachment to the trophies of their former 
grandeur. That many of the works of sculpture fell where 
they stood, has been proved by the spots where they were 
found, after centuries of neglect. The same indifference 
which allowed the baths of Titus to be gradually buried 
beneath the soil, prevented the Laocoon from being removed 
from the niche which it originally adorned. § The Toro, the 
Hercules, the Flora, the Callipygian Venus, were all found 
in the baths of Caracalla, of which most probably they had 
been the ornaments. 

The condition of the Romans" may account for their ne- 
glect of monuments, which the elements themselves conspire 
to destroy. An earthquake shook the Forum of Peace for seven 
days, in the year 408 ;|| butsuchwere the convulsions of nature 
in the succeeding century, that Gregory the Great** naturally 



* In 367 Lampadius, the prsefect, took all the lead, and iron, and brass, 
so collected, without aiij' remuneration to the plunderers. Amna. Mar- 
Cellini, lib. xxvii. cap. iii. pag. 524. edit 1693. 

I Prseterea non minimum pondus, et quod facillimum direptioni est 
mollissimura plumbum de ornatu msenium referuntur esse sublata. 
Variar. epist. lib. iii. cap. xxxi. pag. 50. edit. 1679. 

t •' Et confestim centenarium illud, quod ex eadem forma in atrio ec- 
clesise Beati Petri decurrebat, dum per nimiam neglectus incuriam plum- 
bum ipsius centenarii furtim jam plurima ex parte exinde ablatum fuisset." 
Anastas. in vit. S. Hadriani I- He is talking of the repair of the aqueduct 
and pipe of the Acqua Sabbatina. 

§ Pliny (Nat. Hist. lib. xxxvi.)says, the Laocoon was in the house of 

the Emperor Titus. " Laocoonte qui est in Titi Imperatorisdomo." 

They show the red cellular niche in the baths or palace of Titus, in 
which this groupe is said to have been found. 

II Romse in foro pacis per dies septem terra mugitum dedit. Merecellini 
Comitis, Chronic, ap. Sirmond. torn. ii. p. £74. 

"* St. Gregory, in his Dialogues, hb. ii. cap. xv. reports and confirms a 



73 

supposed the evils of which he had himself been witness t«» 
be the principal cause of the ruin around him. To these 
earthquakes, tempests, and inundations, he attributed not 
only the depopulation of the city, but the fall of her dwell- 
ings, the crumbling of her hones.'^ The rise of the Tiber is 
specified as having overthrown many of the ancient edifices! 
Pestilence and famine within the walls, and the Lombards^ 
without, had reduced her to a wilderness, and it is to be 
believed that the population shrunk at that period from 
many spots never afterwards inhabited. An important no- 
tice, hitherto never cited for the same purpose, informs us, 
that at the second siege of Rome by Totila, there was so 
much cultivated land within the walls, that Diogenes, the go- 
vernor, thought the corn he had sown would be sufficient to 
supply the garrison and citizens in a protracted defence. | 
The district of the Forum, however, had not yet become a 
solitude. A column, erected to the emperor Phocas, is an 
evidence that the ancient ground plan had not been buried 
in the year 608. And the same may be said of the Forum of 
Trajan, upon evidence not quite so precise. § The accretion 

prophecy of St. Benedict. " Cui vir dei respondit: Roma gentibus non 
txlerminahilur, sed tempesttaibus coruscis, turbinibus,ac terrce motufaiigala 
marescet in semet ipsa. Cujus prophetise mysteria nobis jam facta sunt 
kice clariora, qui in hac urbe dissoluta msenia, e.versas domos, destructas 
ecclesias turbine cerniraus ; ejusque aedificia longo senio lassata quia 
minis crehrescentibus prosternantur videmus." The reader may recol- 
lect how Mr. Gibbon has disposed of the prophecy. 

* " Quid autem ista de hominibus dicimus cum ruinis crehrescentibus 

ipsa quoque destrui sedificia videmus quia postquam defecerant 

homines, etiam parietes cadunt ossa ergo excocta sunt, vacua ardet 

Roma . . . ." 18 Homij. in Ezechiel. lib. ii. hom. vi. pag. 70. tom- v. opp. 
omn. Venet. 1776. This was in 592. 

f " Tanta inundatione Tyberis fluvius alveum suura egressus est tan- 
tumque excrevit, ut ejus unda per muros urbis influere atque in ea maxi- 
mam partim regionis occupavit ita ut plurima antiquarum sedium rarenia 
dejiceret" St- Gregor. Vita- per Paul. Diacon. tom. xv. p. 253. opp. S. 
Greg. See also Paul Diacon. de gestis Langob. lib. iii- cap. xxiii. for the 
pestis inguinaria- 

I Procop. de Bello Gothico, lib. iii. cap. xxxvi. Nardini, lib. i. cap. 
viii. has made the remark, but with another object in treating of the 
walls. 

^ The biographers of St. Gregory mention the Forum. " Idem vero 



74 

ot soil in the valleys, and even the mounts of Rome, 
could not have taken place under the foot of a population 
which was never entirely lost, and it is only from the total 
desertion of these buried sites that we must date the forma- 
tion of the present level.* It appears that in 825 there were 
within Rome itself cultivated lands of considerable extent.! 
The contiguity of the inmiense ancient fabrics, when once in 
decay, must have been dangerous during earthquakes, which 
might shake them down, or in inundations, when the water 
might be coniined, and prevented from retiring by the walls 
of buildings as large as provinces.l Such open spots as were 
decorated by single monuments were likely to be tirst over- 
whelmed by the deposite left by the water, and collected round 
those monuments. On this account tlie Forums, and even 
the Palatine, although an eminence, being crowded with 
structures, appear to have been buried deeper than the otlier 
quarters, under the deposite of the river, and the materiakof 

porfectissimus ct acceptabilis Deo sacerdos, cum quadani die per forum 
Ti;)jaiii, quod opore maf!;nifico constat esse extractum procederat." 
Paul. Diacon. in loc cit. pag. alG'ii- " Quod Gregorius per forum Tra- 
jani, quod ipse quondam pulcherriniis wdificiis venustabat," &.c. Joaji. 
Diacon. in loc- cit. p- .S05. Paul Wanefrid was a Lombard of Forli, and 
(akcn prisoner by Charlemagne ; the other deacon wrote in 872, Vid. 
de triplici S. Grogorii magni vita in loc. cit pag- £4(i. 

* Mr. Gibbon, cap Ixxi. p- 40i- toin. xii singularly gives Addison the 
juerit of a discovery, which any one who had seen a picture of the half- 
buried ruins luider the Capitol, and the hole in which the column of Tra- 
jan Avassunk, might, and must, have anticipated- 

t The monastery of Farfa in 825 obtained from the Emperor Lo- 
thaire I- the confirmation of a grant to Pope Eugenius of two farms. 
'* De duabus massis juris monasterii Sanctie Bibiana\ quod est positum 
infra nobilissimauj urbem Romanam, vel qua"" ad easdem massas perti- 
uere dignoscitur, quarum una Pomptjana, et alia Balagai nuncupata" 
Chvonicon Farfense, ap- Script- Rer- Italic, torn- ii. par- ii pag- S83. edit. 
17'-7. We know S- Bibiana to have been in Rome. Muratori says, 
" Dalla Chronica Farfensa apprendiamo, avere Papa Eugenio donate al 
uionastero di Farfa due masse, appellate Tuna Pompiiana, e I'altra Bala- 
gai, poste infra nobilissimam Urbem liornanam : il clie ci fa conoscere, 
cho entro Roma stcssa si trovavano de' Buoni Poderi coltivabili." Annali 
d'ltalia ad an o-2:). torn- iv. p. 033. Perhajje his translation and conclusion 
are rather licentious- 

I "Lavacra in modum provinciarum structa" astonished Constantius. 
Amm- Marcell. lib. xvi, cap. x. 



75 

Ihe crumbling edifices. The latter accumulation must be 
taken into the account, when it is recollected, that the bro- 
ken pottery of the old city has, at some unknown period,* 
been suflicient to form a mount of 150 paces high, and 500 
paces in length. The population was too languid to dig away 
the obstructions, and employed their remaining strength in 
transporting the smaller materials to the more modern and 
secure quarter of the town. 

It is impossible to assign a precise date to the total deser- 
tion of the greater portion of the ancient site ; but the ca- 
lamities of the seventh and cightli centuries must have con- 
tributed to, if they did not complete the change. A scarcity! 
in the year 604, a violent earthquake^ a few years after- 
wards, a pestilence§ in or about the year 678, five tremen- 
dous inundations of the Tiber|| from 680 to 797, a second fa- 

* De eo perpetuum apud antiques silcntium. Donati Rora-Wet. lib. iii. 
cap.xiii. The most reasonable account of the Testacean mount seems 
to be that of Lucius Faunus, lib. iii. cap. iii. de antiquit Urbis Roma;, ap. 
Sallcngre, torn- ip 248 There was a college of potters established by 
Numa. The vicinity of the water made them fix themselves in the 
meadow on the banks of the Tiber. Is was strictly forbidden to fling 
any obstructions into the river. The mound rose by degrees, and there- 
fore unnoticed. It is strange, however, that the regionaries should not 
mention it. 

t " Eoque tempore fuit fames in civitate Romana grandis." Anastas. 
in vit. Sabiniani. pag. 134. 

\ " Eodem tempore factiis est terra motus magnus mense August! in- 
dictione undecima." Ibid, in vit. S. Deusdedit. He was pope from 614 
to 617. 

?5 " Similiter mortalitas major, atqiie gravissima subsecuta est menSe 
suprascripto, Julio, Augusto, et Septemb. inurbe Roma, qualis nectem- 
poribus aliorum Pontificum esse memoratur." Ibid in vit S. Agathon. 
pag. 142. Paul. Diaconus says, " Tantaquc fuit multitude morientium ut 
etiam parentes cum filiis, atque fratres cum sororibus apud urbem Ro- 
mam ad sepulchra deducerentur." De gestis Langob. lib. vi. cap. v. 

II In G85— 715— 717— 791— 797. Of that in 717, it is mentioned, "Per 
dies autem septem aqua Romam tenebat perversam." Anastas, in vit. S. 
Gregor. ii. p. 155. Paul. Diaconus tells, " His diebus Tyberis fluviusita 
inundavit, ut alveum suuni egressus multa Romanse fecerit exitia civitati ; 
ita ut in via Lata ad unam et serais staturam excrescerct, atque a porta S. 
Petri usque ad Ponteni Milvium acquae se distendentes conjungerent." 
De gestis Langob. lib. ri. cap. xxxvi. From the mention made «f the 

10 



76 

mine iu the ponliticate of Pope Constanline,* which con- 
tinued for six and thirty months, a pestilence in the last year 
of the seventh century, and the assault of the Lombards for 
three months under Astolpluis in 1733; these are the event? 
which compose the Roman history of tliis unhappy peinod. 

The fabrics of the pld town could receive no protection but 
from their solidity. The lawful sovereigns had degraded the 
capital of the world to the head of a dutchy, and the only 
visit which an emperor of the east deigned to make to Rome 
was not to protect but to despoil her of all her valuable orna- 
ments. t The recorded plunder of Constans has afhxed to 
that recreant name a greater share in the ruin of Rome than 
the concurrence of other calamities will allow ; his robbery 

Corso beinj; damaged, the descent of the city into the Campus Martius 
seems to be proved. At the same time ^tlie English inundated Rome. 
Ibid. cap. xxxvii. 

The inundation of 791 tore down the Flaminian gate, and carried it 
as far as the arch called Tres facicellaj (the Arcus Portogalli) and rose to 
the height of two men. " Per triduum ipsum flumcn, quasi per alveum, 
percivitatcm currebat." Anastas. in vit. S. Hadriani, p. 194. The ri- 
ver kept tlie city under water for many days, and S. Hadrian was obliged 
to send provisions in boats to those living in the via Lata, " per naviculas 
morantibus via Latacibos advexit.'' 

Tiie inundation in 797 is not in Anastasius, where Fea (Disscrtazione, 
J). 309) finds it, but is in the " Index Yetustissimus Ducum Spoletonato- 
rum et Abbatum Farfensium." Ap. Script. Rer. Ital. torn. ii. par. ii. p. 
295. " Dccxcvii. Inundatio aquffi fit Romie in via Lata ad duas staturas." 
It may be suspected that as both rose to the height of two men, there is 
some confusion, and that they were the same. 

* Constantine was elected in 703. " Vir valdc mitissimus, cujus tem-i 
poribus in urbe Roma fames facta est magna per annos tres." Anastas. in 
vit. Constant, p. 152. There seems a full stop wanting after mitissimus: 
his misfortunes follow his virtues too quickly. 

t " Omnia quae erant in aere ad oruamentum civitatis dcpostiit, sed et 
ecclesiam beatse Mariffi ad matyres, qua; de tegulis a;reis erat cooperta, 
discoperuit." Anastas. in vit. St. Vitaliani. torn. i. p. 106. 

" Sed manens Romse dies duodecim omnia qua; fuerint antiquitus insti. 
tuta ex sere in ornamentum urbis ubstulit : in tantum ut etiam basilicam 

Beatae Mariae quae antea Pantheon vocata fuerat (vocabatur) dis- 

cooperiret . . . ." Paul. Diaconi di> gcstis Langobard. lib. v. cap. xi. 
Fabricius says that Constans took away more in seven days tliaa all the 
Barburiaus had done in 258 years. Oescriptio Roma;, cap. ii. 



77 

was confined to the bronze tiles of the Pantheon, and to what- 
soever quantity of the precious metals could be collected in a 
residence of twelve dajs. He had the gleanings of Gen- 
serick, but he still left the bronze of the portico to be plun- 
dered by Urban VIII. and many other metallic decorations, 
to be melted into bells for the churches in the subsequent rise 
of the modern town, and for other pious uses of the Popes.* 
The period of the exarchate and of the Lombard domina- 
tion is that of the lowest distress of Rome.t The most dili- 
gent inquiry has been unable to discover who were her ac- 
knowledged masters, or what was the form of her domestic 
government.! Subsequently to the extinction of the exarchate 
by Astolphus in 752, she had been abandoned, but was never 
formally resigned by the Greek Cajsars. After Gregory II. in 
728 or 9, and Gregory III. in 741, had solicited the aid of 
Charles Martel against the Lombards,^ and against the ico- 

* The Abate Fea(Dissertazione, p. 407, et seq.) allows that whatever 
was saved was saved by miracle, and probably because buried under some 
heavy ruin, as the gilded Hercules, the Wolf, the Belvedere Pine. The 
bronze doors of Cosmas and Damianus were saved because they be- 
longed to a church ; those of St- Hadrian were carried away to the Late- 
ran. There was a statue of bronze, a bull, in the Forum Boarium in the 
time of Blondus. " .... A foro Boario ubi aireum taurum aspicimus." 
Roma inst lib. i- fo. 10. 

t " Ipsa urbium regina Roma, quamdiu Langobardorum Regnum vi- 
guit, summis calamitatibus exagitata, atque in pejus ruens ex antique 
splendore decidebat." Antiq. 3Icd. iEvi, torn. ii. p. 148.di3sertatio21. 

I Annali d'ltalia, torn. iv. pag. 304. 

J^ Annali d'ltalia, tom. iv. pag. 281, 286. 

Mr. Gibbon has observed that " the G reek writers are apt to confound 
the times and actions of Gregory the 2d and 3d," (cap. xlix. p. 132, note 
20. vol. ix. octavo.) and by some accident the following extraordinary er- 
ror has been left in his text. " In his distress the first Gregory had im- 
plored the aid of the hero of the age, of Charles Martel." (cap. xlix. 
pag. 147. vol. ix. octavo) The first Gregory had been dead more than a 
century. The historian could hardly mean the first of the 2d and 3d, 
which would be too equivocal an expression : besides which there was 
but a letter written, and there are some doubts as to the embassy of 
Gregory II. to Charles Martel ; and the decided, perhaps repeated suppli- 
cation to him was from Gregory III. (See Muratori, tom. iv. pag. 286, 
ad an. 741.) Nor does the mistake look like an error of the press, to be 
read, " Gregory had first implored," kc since the application t6 Pepiii 
was made by Stephen II. 



78 

noclast tyrants of Constantinople, it might be thought that the 
supremacy of the Greek empire Irad ceased to he recognised. 
Yet a certain respect, at least, for the successors of Constan- 
tine, not only from the Romans but from their new patricians, 
Pepin and Charles of France, may be shown to have endured 
within two years of the coronation of the latter hero* in the 
year 800. It is certain, however, that about this period the 
Romans had recurred to the memory of their former institu- 
tions, and had composed a corporation of uncertain form and 
number, advised rather than commanded by the Pope, who 
had silently usurped the sovereign title of our Lord. By 
this senate or this spiritual master had the Byzantine title of 
Consul or Patrician been offered to Charles Martel and con- 
ferred on Pepin. A letter is still preserved from the Senate 
and People to Pepin, Patrician of the Romans,! and the reply 
of the Frank monarch, recommending a deference to their 
bishop Paul I. must imply that the domestic sovereignty was 
divided between the pastor and the community at large. 
This mixed government, which must have sometimes assum- 
ed the appearance of anarchy, and at others degenerated into 
despotism, was contemplated with horror by those who re- 
called the lawful imperial sway of the Ca?sars,J and either to 
the people or the popes was applied the opprobrious regret 
that Rome was subject to the slaves of slaves, and to a barba- 
rous populace drawn together from all the corners of the 
earth. The twelfth line of the following verses is the same 
read backwards as forwards, and is quoted from Sidonius Apol- 

* "Viene a fortificarsi la conghiettura proposta di sopra, ciot che dura- 
va tuttavia in Roma il rispetto all' Imperador Greco, ed era quivi ricono- 
sciuta la sua autorita," Annali d'ltalia, ad an. 798. torn. iv. pag. 492. 
Gregory III. is usually called the first of the independent popes, but ho 
certainly acknowledged the superiority of Eutichius exarch of R;nenna, 
to whom, as Anastasius tells us, he applied for permission to use six co- 
lumns of some structure for St. Peter's church. 

t Tiie S6th letter of the Codex Carolinus. "scritta da tutto il senato c 
dalla generalita del Popolo Romano al re Pippino Patrizio de' Romani-'' 
See — Annali d'ltalia ad an. 76 J. torn iv. p. S.Sl. 

X Saint Gregory hnii'^elf made the distinction between the i-epubhcan 
subjects of an Emperor and the slaves of a Ki.ig. '• Hoc naraque iritrr- 
reges gentium et republican Imperatorcs dista quod reges gentium, do- 
mini servoruni sunt, Iraperatores ^ero Reipublicaj domini liberorum." 
Lib. xiii. epist. 31. 



79 

iinaris to denote the retrograde fortune of Rome ; " e do- 
ojc^/e," says Muratori, ''■ una tolta purer t qxialche miravigtiofio 

Nobilibus fueras quondam constructa patronis 

Subdita nunc servis. Heu male Roma ruis 
Deseruere tui tanto te tempDre reges : 

Cessit et ad Grajcos nomen honosque tuum 
In te nobilium rectorum nemo remansit 

Ingcnuique tui rura Pelasga colunt. 
Vulgus ab extremis distractum partibus orbis 

Servorum servi nunc tibi sunt domini, 
Constantinopolis ilorens nova Boma vocatur 

Moenibus et muris Roma vetusta cadis. 
Hoc cantans prisco prsedixit carmine vates 

Roma tibi subito moiihus ihit amor. 
Non si te Petri meritum Paulique foveret 

Tempore jam longo Roma miselia fores 
Manciribus subjecta jacens macularis iniquis 

Inclyta quse fueras nobilitate nitens.* 

A boasted descendant of Camillus was still left at the begin- 
ning of the fifth century ;t but the unknown author of the 
above complaint would lead us to believe that the last relics 
of the Roman race had in his time disappeared. 

When the history of the pontiffs becomes all the history of 
Rome, we find each moment of peace and prosperity employ- 
ed in rebuilding the walls, in burning lime, in constructing 
churches and shrines of martyrs, the materials of which must, 
it is evident, have been supphed from the deserted ruins. 

* See — Antiq. Med. ^vi. edit. 1739. tom, ii. p. 148, 149. dissertat. 21. 
Muratori warns us not to think that the servorum servi alludes to the 
popes The title may not yet have been used, but to whom do the 
words allude ? The phrase is singular, and has been applied to only one 
character of antiquity, to Sextus Pompey ; " Libertorum suorum liber- 
tus, servorumque servus " Veil. Patercul. Hist. lib. ii. cap. 73. The slave 
of slaves had become the king of kings, when a dedicator to Sixtus 
Quintus told him 

" Ingentes si facta decent ingentia reges 
Te regum regem Sixte quis esse neget." 

Da Barga, Coram de obelisco, ap. Graev. tom. iv. p. 1931. 

t St. Jerome had a female correspondent who was a descendant of Ca- 
millus ; and St. Gregory was of the patrician family of the Gordians. 
See — Baylc's Dictionary, article Camillus. 



80 

The repair of lormcr damages, and the increasing population 
-ifter the estabhshment of the Carlovingian princes, augment, 
ed the apphcation to the same common quarry. The recon- 
struction of an aqueduct to convey the acqua Verginc to the 
Vatican by Hadrian I, at tlie end of the eighth century, seems 
to prove that the Campus Martius, and the quarter about St, 
Peter's, were then chiefly inhabited.* The altar of the apos- 
tles had gathered round it a crowd of votaries who became 
settlers, and for whose protection Leo IV.t surrounded with 
a wall the suburb of the Vatican. Respect for the mother of 
the churches, and the supposed scene of the baptism of Con- 
stantino, had preserved the inhabitants in the other extremity 
near the Lateran,J and the greater was the population at 
these opposite points, the more complete must have been the 
desertion of many immediate quarters within the vast circuit 
of the walls. It has been already observed that some of 
these spots had become cultivated lands in the beginning of 
the ninth century. 

The edifices of old Rome are lost for more than 200 years, 
but reappear in a regionary of the eighth or ninth century, 
who might make us su'spect that the abandonment had not yet 
reached the Forum. His notice includes the following monu- 
ments, which he divides amongst the regions after the exam- 
ple of former itineraries. § The Thermae of Alexander, of 
Commodus, of Trajan, of Sallust, with his pyramid, of Diocle- 
tian, of Constantino, and some baths near St. Silvestro in ca- 
pite, a temple of Minerva, the temple of Jupiter,|| the Roman 
Forum, the Forum of Trajan, the three Circuses, Maximus, 

* Anastas. in vit. Had. p. 189. 

•j: He was Pope from 847 to 85,^. 

\ Another aqueduct, the Claudian, was repaired for the service of the 
Latcraii. The Marcian water was also again brought to Rome by Hadrian 
I. It seenis that these streams and the acqua TrajanahacJ been before par- 
tially recovered, it is uncertain by whom, and had again fallen into decay. 

C^ See — Biauchini's edition of the lives of the popes. Opusculum XV. 
proleg;oraena ad vitas Roman. Fontificum, torn. ii. pag. cxxii. Bianchini 
calls him a resionary of the eighth or ninth century. The date 875 has 
been assigned to him. See — Dissertazione suUe rovine, kc. p. 326. 

II Bianchini calls this tiic temple of the Capitoline Jupiter, without giv- 
insr Knv reason. 



81 

Flaminius and Agonaiis, the arch of Drusus called recordatlo- 
nis, the Arch of Severus, that of Titus and Vespasian, and of 
Gratian, Theodosius, and Valentinian, the Flavian Amphithe- 
atre, that called Castrense, the Capitol, the Septizonium of Se- 
verus, a Palace of Nero, another attributed to Pontius Pilate, 
and a third near Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, the Theatres of 
Pompey and of Marcellus, the Pantheon, the Mica Aurea, the 
Antonine and Trajan Columns, a Nymphaeum, an Obelisk near 
S. Lorenzo in Lucina, the Horses of the Baths of Constantine, 
the Horse of Constantine, the Elephant called Herbarium, a 
statue of the Tiber, several aqueducts, and nameless porticos. 
It is vsrorth while to observe how many of these monuments 
have been partially preserved up to this day, so that one might 
suspect that those of a slighter construction had already yield- 
ed to violence and time, and those only had remained which 
were to be the wonder, perhaps, of many thousatidje&rs. It is 
impossible to determine in what state were these monuments, 
although they might be supposed entire from the epithet broken 
being applied to the aqueducts.* At the same time we know 
that the Theatre of Pompey had been in decay three hundred 
years before, and that the Thermae had been altogether disused 
for the same period, and must therefore have been in ruins. t 
The Baths of Sallust were, it may be thought, partially de- 
stroyed when the fire of Alaric was fatal to his palace. It is 
probable that many of the above objects served merely as land- 
marks amongst the many churches which form the chief wiemo- 
rabilia of this ecclesiastical pilgrim, who adorns the twelfth re- 
gion with the head of St. John the Baptist. In the same man- 
ner the Forum of Trajan is noted by two authors of the 
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, although it must have been in 
ruins previous to either of those dates. J 

* The aqueducts are called Forma, a name which Cassiodorus gives 
them. Variar. lib- vii. Form vi. torn. i. pag. ) 13. 

t We find mention of baths in the lives of the popes, as in that of St. 
Hadrian, " In balneis Lateranensibus ;" but the Thermae had never been 
frequented since the siege of Vitiges. The total change of manners in mo- 
dern Rome has left it without a single bath open to the public ; nor is this 
a usual commodity in private houses. 

i Benedicti Beati Petri Canonici, liber Pollicitus, ad Guidonem deCas- 
tello, written, says Mabillon, ante atmum jic.xlui quo Guido iste ad pon- 



d2 

The rising importance of the new city accelerated the ruin 
of the old. From the time that Rome again became worth a 
contest, we find her citizens in arms, sometimes ayunst each 
other, sometimes against the pretenders to the imperial crown. 
The spirit of feudalism had distracted her inhabitants. Adal- 
bert and Lambert, the Dukes of Tuscany and Spoloto, were 
invited to inflame the civil furies,* and in the beginning of the 
tenth century, Alberic, Marquis of Camerino, had obtained the 
dominion of Rome, and the hand of the famous Marozia.t The 
expulsion of Hugo, king of Burgundy and Italy, the last of the 
three husbands of that " most noble patrician,'' by Alberic the 
son of the lirst, and the repeated assaalts of the city by the ex- 
pelled tyrant, are not to be forgotten amongst the causes of di- 
lapidation. J The assumption of the imperial crown by the 
first Otho, in 9G2, and the revolts of the Roman captains, or pa- 
tricians, with that of Crescentius, against Otho the Second and 



tlficatus assumptus est, dictus Celestinus II- see — Ordo Romanus XI. ap. 
Mabill. Museum Italicum, torn. ii. pag- 118. edit- Paris 1724. 

See — Liber de mirabiiibus Romae ap. Montfaucon. Diarium Italicum. 
cap. XX. p. 283 to p 301 edit Paris 1702. 

In the year 1162, there was a church with gardens and houses called 
St. JViccolo cdla colonna Trajana. (Dissertazione sulle Rovine, pag. 355.) 
Flavius Blondus, without mentioning his authority, says that Symmachus 
1. built two churches there. Symmachus was pope in 500, " In ejus fori 
excelsis mirabilibusque ruinis Symmachus primus Papa ecclesias S. Ba- 
silii et item S. Silvestri et Martini extruxit- 

Rom. instaurata, lib. ii. fo. 38. edit Taurin 1527- 

* A- D- 878, accordiug to the Annali d' Italia. 

t A. D. 910 to 925. 

I Mauratori calls Marozia "Nobilissima Patricia Romana," and ap- 
pears to disbelieve a part of the " laidezze e maldiccnze" charged to her 
by Luitprand, the repository of all the pasquinades and defamatory libels 
of the times. Annali d' Italia ad an. 911 torn. v. p. 267. Marozia had 
one lover a Pope, Sergius III., and her son by him, or more probably by 
hor first husband, Alberic, was John XL, Pope from 931 to 935. Guido, 
her second husband, Duke or Marquis of Tuscany, was master of Rome 
from 925 to 9:9 ; and Hugo, her third husband, from 929 to 932- Alberic 
her son reigned as patrician and consul from 932 to 954 ; beat away Hugo 
from Rome in 932, in 936, and perhaps 9 U, and although he had married 
the king's daughter, contributed to his expulsion from Italy in 040. Hi^ 
son Octavian reigned as patrician, or Ss Pope John XII., until 962. 



83 

Third,* had renewed the wars in the heart of the city, and 'if> 
is probable had converted many of the larger structures into 
ruins or strong holds. 

The next appearance of the monuments is when they had 
become the fortresses of the new nobility, settled at Rome 
since the restoration of the empire of the west.t Some of 
these monuments were perhaps entire, but it is evident that 
some of them were in ruins when they first served for dwell- 
ings or forts : such must have been the case with the theatre& 
of Marcellus and of Pompey. How they came into the hands 
of their occupiers, whether by grant of the Popes, or by 
seizure, or by vacancy, is unknown ; one instance has reached 
us in which Stephen, son of Hildebrand, consul of Rome in 
975, gave to the monks of St. Gregory on the Cailian mount^ 
an ancient edifice called the Septem solia minor, near the 
Septizonium of Severus, not to keep, but to pull down.'l 
The character of those to whom the present was made, and 
the purpose for which it was granted, will account for the ruin 
of the ancient fabrics in that period. The monks were after- 
wards joint owners of the Coliseum, § and the columns of Tra- 

* Romani capitanei patriciatus sihi tyrannidem vindicav^re — See — Ro- 
niuald Salern. Cbrunic. Miiratoii. annali. torn. v. p. 480. ad an. 987. The; 
Romans revolted in 974. 987. 995, 996. Cresccnlius stood a siege against 
Otho III., and was beheaded in 998 ; and another revolt took place in 
1001, at the coronation of Conrad II. In 10£7, the Germans and Romany 
again fought in the city. 

t The Frangipani, the Orsini, the Colonni, were certainly foreign, 
and perhaps German families, although they all pretended a Roman de- 
scent The first when reduced, in the beginning of the seventh century, 
to Mario, a poor knight, Signer of Nemi, published their tree to identify 
their family with that of Gregory the Great, '' del quale si prova il prin- 
cipio e il fine mi vi h una largura di 400 anni in mezzo." See — Relation 
di Roma del A,imaden, p. 139. edit. 1672, which may be consulted for 
some short, but singular notices, respecting the Roman families. 

\ Mittarelli, Annali Camaldolesi, tom. i. Append, num. xli Coll. 90_ 
" Donatio templi de Septem soliis minons facta a Stephana Jilio quondam 
Ildebrandi consults et duds eidem Johanni ahbati. Id est iilud meum. 
templum, quod septem solia minor dicitur, ut ab iiac die vestrse set potes- 
tati et voluntati pro tuitione turris vestrae quae septem solia major dicituc 
ad destrucndum et sumptus deprimendum quantum vobis placuerit." ]?,• 
96, edit. 1755. 

5i See— a note on,the CoUsenm. 

^ n 



84 

jail and Marcus Aurelius were put in the possession ot reli- 
gious communities, who abandoned them to total neglect.*' 
Whatever were the means by which they obtained possession, 
the Orsini, in the Xlth and Xllth centuries, had occupied the 
mole of Hadrian, and the theatre of Pompey ; the Colonna, 
the Mausoleum of Augustus, and the baths of Constantine. 
The Conti were in the Quirinal. The Frangipani had the 
Coliseum and the Septizonium of Severus, and the Janus of 
Ihe Forum Boarium,t and a corner of the Palatine. The 
Savelli were at the tomb of Metella. The Corsi had fortified 
(he Capitol. If the churches were not spared, it is certain 
the pagan monuments would be protected by no imagined 
sanctity, and we find that the Corsi family had occupied the 
Basilica of St. Paul, J without the walls, and that the Pan- 
theon was a fortress defended for the Pope.§ 

When, in the eleventh century, the quarrels between thfs 
Church and the Empire had embroiled the whole of Italy. 
Rome was necessarily the chosen scene of combat. Within 
her walls there Avas space to fight, and there were fortresses t© 
defend. We read accordingly, in the annals of those times. 

'^ The Aurelian column was made over to St. Silvestro in capite, and a 
singular insiription is to this day seen under the porch of that church, ia 
•which those who should alienate the column, and the oirerings, are ex- 
communicated by the authority of the bishops and cardinals, and " mul 
torum clericorum, atque laicorum qui interfuerent" 

The writer of this note saw it on the spot. A copy of it is given in 
Dissertazione, k,c. p. 349. The date is 1119. There was a keeper of 
the coltunn in 193, shortly after it was built. The column of Trajan 
was in the care of St. Niccolo, and the new senate and people in 1162 
ordered that it should not be wantonly injured under pain of death and 
confiscation. See — Die.sertazione, pp. 355, 356. Yet the Antonine co- 
lumn threatened to fall when repaired by Sixtus Cj»uintus. See — de Co- 
Jumna triumphali coiiimcntarius, Josephi Castalionis ad Sixtum V. ap- 
Grsjv. torn iv. p. 1947. " Erat valde confracta et multis in locis noa 
limas inodo verum et fenestras arapKssimas, vol portas discussis marmo- 
ribus duxerat ;"" and the base of the column of Trajan was under ground 
Tintil the time of Paul III. 

f This was called Turris Cencii Frangipani, and the remains of a fort 
are still left upon the summit. 

X Annali d' Italia, ad an. 1105. p. 341. torn, vi 

V Sec — a note On the Pantheon. 



85 

of armies encAmped on the Aventlne, and moving from the 
tomb of Hadrian to the Lateran, or turning aside to the Co- 
liseum or the Capitol, as if through a desert, to the attack of 
the strong posts occupied by the respective partisans of the 
Pope or the Empire. Gregory VII. may have the merit of 
having founded that power to which modern Rome owes all 
her importance, but it is equally certain, that to the same 
pontiff must be ascribed the final extinction of the city of the 
Cagsars ; a destruction which would have been classed with 
the havoc of religious zeal, did it not belong more properly 
to ambition.* The Emperor Henry IV., tlie troops of the 
Pope's nephew, Rusticus, and the Normans of Robert Guis- 
card, were more injurious to the remains of Rome, from 1082 
to 1084, than all the preceding Barbarians of every age. 
The first burnt a great part of the Leonine city, and ruined 
the portico of St. Peter : he destroyed also the long portico 
from the Ostian gate to the church of St. Paul. In his last 
irruption he levelled a part of the Septizonium to dislodge 
Rusticus, razed the fortresses of the Corsi on the Capitol, f 
and battered the mole of Hadrian. The NormansJ and Sa- 

* Annali d'ltalia. ad an. 1082, 1083, 1084. torn. vi. p. 273 to 232. 

t " Domos Corsorum subvertit, dehinc septem solia, quibus Rusticus 
nepos prsedicti Pontificis continebatur, obsidere cum multis machinis 
bellicis attentavit, de quibus quamplurimas columnas subvertit." Baroniin. 
Annales Ecclesiast. ad an. 1084. torn. xvii. p. 551. Lucse 1740. 

I " Robertus autem dux Roin;im cum exercitu noctu ingressus dum 
ad ecclesiam Sanctorum Quatuor Coronatorum advenisset ex consilio 
Ciocii Romanorum Consulis ignem urbi injecit: Roman! i^ilur rei novi- 
tate perculsi dum extinguendo igni toti incumberent, Dux ad arctm St. 
Angeli continue pioperans.". • . . Leo Osliensis (acotemporar})ap Baron. 
p. 553 in loc cit. 

Bertholdus has these stronger Avords : "Robertus Guiscardus, Dux 
Northmannorum in servrtium Sancti Petri post kal Maii Romam armata 
manu invasit, fugatoque Henrico totam urbcm Gregorio Papae rebellen^ 
penitus expoliavit, et magnam ejus p'utem igni consumpsit, eo quod Ro- 
mani quendaraejus militemvulneraverunt." A p Baron loc. citat p. 552. 
A poet, Hugo Flaviniacensis, says only, " Quibusdam sedibus incensis." — 
Another author, " Immo ipse cum suis totam regionem illam, in qua 
Ecclesia Sancti Silvestri, et Sancti Laurenlii in Lucina sitce sunt, penitus 

destruxit, et fere ad nihil redegit Regiones illas circa Latcranum 

et Colisseum positas igne coraburer^.'^ Cardin. de Arasronia ct alien. 



86 

i;^een3 of Guiscard's army, with the papal faction, burnt the 
town from the Flaminian gate to the Antonine coknnn, and 
laid waste the sides of the Esquiline to the Lateran ; thence 
he set hre to the region from that church to the Coliseum and 
the Capitol, or, according to some authorities, to the Tiber. 
He attacked the Coliseum for several days, and finished the 
ruin of the Capitol. It is reasonable to believe that the flames 
were arrested by the wilderness wliich had before existed to 
the south of these positions, and, indeed, in other quarters. 
Besides the former notice of farms in Rome, we find that 
there were lands cultivated and uncultivated in the ninth re- 
gion of the city^ about the ThcrmJE of Alexander, so early 
tis the year 998.* 

The conflagration of Guiscard created or confirmed a soli- 
tude much more extensive than is embraced by that " spa- 

Vitac Pontif. Rom- Ap. Script, ller. Ital. torn. iii. p. 313.— And other 

^v^t^M•s, " Per diversa loca civitatis niisct;ro jubct incendia Ipsis 

Crg;o supiM-atis, et civitate in ma;;na aui parte collisa." Anonymi Vaticani. 
Historia. Sicula. ap, Sn ijitor. Ucr. hal. torn viii. p. ?7S. It is not known 
wlu'ii ho lived. 

•' Dux itaijue RonKnn ingressus cepit maximani partem urbis, hostiliter 
inccndt'ns et vastans a Palatio Laterani usque CastelUim S. Angeli, ubi 
Papa Grep;oriiis oppuj^nahatur." RomiiaUii Salernitani Chronicon. ap. 
Sciiptor. Rcr. Jtal. torn, vii- p 175 He was archbishop of Salerno from 
1153 or 115-4 to 1181. " II che forse non merita niolta crcdenza :'' so 
Mm'atori tiiiiiks, Annali ad an. 1084. 

" Urbs maxima ex parte Inccndio, vento admixto accrescente, consu- 
mitur " Gauferdi Malaterra^, ibid. torn. v. p 5o«. Hist- Sicula. 

Landulfus Senior, the 31il:niesc historian, whom the writers all attack, 
because he declared asainst the mad ambition and celibacy of Gregory 
A^IL, and for the introduction of whom in his collection, Muratori thought 
bimsrlf obliged to make an apolog)-, has these strong expressions on 
Guiscard's lire. " Quid multa ? tribiis civitatis partibus, multis que pa- 
laliis Regum Romanorum adnstis, Grtgorius demuui fdiis male crisma- 
tis filiabusque pejus consecratis, cui jam spes ulla vivendi in civitate non 
erat ab urbe exiliens cum Roberto Salernum profectus est. Ubi per 
pauca vivens tempora tamquam malorum pa^nam emeritus est-" Hist. 
Mediol. lib iv cap iii Script Rer. Italic torn. iv. p- V20. Landulphus 
was a eotemporary w riter. 

* There were three churches also in these precincts rising amongst 
crijpts and fragments t»f columns : a sign to whom the destruction should 
bo referred. See — Disscrt^zione, &c. p. 357. 



87 

ciou3 quarter between the Lateran and the Cohseum," to 
which it is confined by our own historian. From that period 
at least must be dated the desolation of a great part of the 
Esquiline, and all the Viminal, and much of the Coelian hill, 
including the irretrievable ruin perhaps of the Coliseum, and 
certainly of many of the remaining structures of the Fo- 
rums and the Sacred Way.* A cotemporary writer! says, 
that all the regions of the city were ruined ; and another 
spectator, who was in Rome| twelve years afterwards, la- 

* There was a provprh, even in this day, which speaks the beauty of 
the Roman edifices : " Unde in proverl)iuin dictum est : Mediolanum in 
chricis, Papia in deliciis, Roma in (Bdificiis, Ravenna in ecclesiis." Lan- 
dulfi. Sen. lib. iii. cap. i. p. 96. 

Flavius Blondus quotes the epistles of Gregory VIF., and his biogra- 
pher Pandulphus, above cited, for the battles of the Coliseum, but they 
are not mentioned in the first, they may be in the second. He attributes 
the desolation of Rome, as he saw it, to Guiscard ; this, however, was 
not Csesarean Rome, but that restored by the Popes. " Ea nos et alia 
Henrici quarti temporibus gesta considerantes, conjicimus urbem Roma- 
nam quae Pontificum Romanorum beneficio imminutas longe supra vires 
non parura instauraverat, tunc prima ad hanc quae nostris inest tempori- 
bus rerum exiguitatem esse perductam." Quoted in Dissertazione, &c. 
p. S42. Query instaurata erat. 

f Boninzone, bishop of Sutri, in Dissertazione, p. SIO. 
I Hildebert, archbishop of Tours, was in Rome, llOG. William of 
Malmsbury, De gestis Rer. Angl. lib. iii. p. 131, gives the followijig 
elegy- 
Par tibi Roma nihil, cum sis prope tota ruina 

Quam magna fueris Integra fracta doces. 
Proh dolor ! urbs cecidit cujus dum specto ruiuas 

Penso statum, solitus dicere ; Roma Fuit. 
Non tamen annorum series, non fiamma, nee ignis 

Ad plenum potuit hoc abolere decus. 
Tantum restat adhuc, tantum ruit, ut neque pars stans 

^quari possit, diruta nee refici. 
Confer opes, ebur, et marmor, superumque favorem 

Artificum vigilent in nova facta manus. 
Non tamen aut fieri par stanti fabrica muro 

Aut restaurari sola ruina potest. 
Cura hominem potuit tantam componcre Romam. 

Quantum non potuit solvere cura deum. 
llic superum formas superi mirantur et ipsi; 
Fa ciipiunt fictjs vultibus esse pares. 



mftnts, that JiUliongh what romaincil could not be equalled 
what was ruined could never be repaired. What chiefly ex- 
cited his astonishment was the beauty of the statues, which 
the gods then^selves might survey witli envy, and which, iu 
his opinion at least, were worthy of being worshipped on the 
sculptor's account. William of Ma'msbury, who reports the 
elegy of the latter writer, also informs us, that, comparatively 
speaking, Rome was now become a little town. In those 
times the rage of the conflicting factions was often vented 
against the houses of their enemies, and their destruction 
must have involved (hat of the neighbouring monuments, or 
of those in which the towera of the Roman nobles were, in 
many instances, built. In lllC the citizens revolting against 
Pope Paschal 11., Uirevv down* several of tlie dwellings of 
the Pietro Leone family. The Emperor Lothaire II. in 
1133 or 1134, pitched his camp on the Aventine. Innocent 
II. was in possession of the Laleran, the Coliseum, and the 
Capitol ; and the partisans of the anti-pope, Anaclete, had 
the Vatican, (he casde of St. Angcio, and many other strong 
places of the cityt. In the annals of the Xllth century these 
strong places of Rome are mentioned as if they stood not in 
a ci(>, I>u( in a province. The struggles between tlie pontiflfe 
and (he peopl(% the revolution of Arnold of Brescia, | rcncw- 

Nou polnit natura doos hor ore crcare 

Quo miramhi ilouiu sifjiia croavit homo 
Vultus adcnt his iiuniinilnis. potiusque coluntur 

Artilicuin studio quani doitatc sua. 

Urbs felix si vel douiinis urbs ilia carerct 

Vfl iloniinis esset turpo carere fide. 

George Fuhricius gives a part (»f this elt'fcy in his Epistola Nuncupatoria 

prefixed to his Dcscriptiu Roiuie, ap. Grtrv. torn. iii. 

* Armali d' Italia, toiu. vi. )>. ;5ol. 

\ Mr. Gililtou says, " I eannot recovor in Muratori's original lives of 
the Popes (Script. Ueruni Italioarum, torn. iii. p. 1) the passage that at- 
tests this hostile partition," namely, " whilst ©nc facti()n occupied the 
Vatican and the Capitol, tlie other was intrenched in the Ijateran and the 
C»>liseum,'' cap. l\xi. p. 4^20. vol. xii. The division is mentioned in Vita 
Innocentii I'apa^ 11. ex Cardinale .Vragonio, Script. Rer. Ital. toni. iii. part 
i. p. Id j, and he might have found fretjuciit other records of it at othei 
dates. 
\ It bdgau in 11 IS, aud was matured Iu 1L4&. 



«9 

cd the contests of Vitellius and Sabinus for the Capitol, from 
which were alternately driven the adherents of the new se- 
nate and friends of the Pope. The Basilica of St. Peter's 
was fortified for the people, and in those commotions (in 
1143) it is recorded that many of the towers and palaces of 
the Roman nobles were levelled with the ground.* 

Antiquaries have been able to catch a glimpse of the ruins 
fifty years subsequently to the fire of Guiscard, in some ac- 
count of the ceremonials and processions of the papal court, 
written. by a canon and chorister of St. Peter's,! who, besides 
those monuments whose names arc recognisable, mentions 
several objects disfigured by the barbarism of the times. 

The caution before given must be repeated. There is 
good reason to suspect that many of the monuments which he 
mentions were not entire, but were noted as landmarks, as 
they might be at this day. The same canon gives us to un- 
derstand, that the roads in the city were then so bad, that in 
tlie short days the Pope was obliged to conclude his proces- 

■^ Annali d' Italia, torn. vi. p. 481. 

t Benedict!. Beati. Petri. Canonici, &tc. c;uoted Iiefore. He mentions 
ihe Arch of Gratian, Theodosiiis, and Valentiiiian, near the TElian I)rid}j;e ; 
the Obelisk of Nero ; the Circus of Alexander, in the Piazza Navona; 
the Temple of Concord, near the Arch of Severus ; the Arch and 
Temple of Nerva (Nerviit) ; a Temple of Janus ; the Forum of Trajan; 
the Forum of Cfesar ; the Arch of Titus and Vespasian, called Septem 
.Lucernarum ; the A.rch of Constantine ; the Coliseum ; the Theatre of 
Pompey; the Pantheon, which he is thought to have called Porticus 
Agrippinaj, thou}>;h in fact he calls it Sancta Maria Rotunda, Militia', 
Tiberiana?, on the Quirinal; the Arch of Piety ; the Memoria, or Tem- 
ple, or Castle of Adrian ; the Teniplum Fatalc, near the Temple of 
Concord; the Pine, near the Palatine; the Arcus Manus Carnea; ; the 
Mamertine dungeon ; the Asylus, through the flinty road, (Siliceni) where 
Simon Magus fell, and near the Temple of Romulus ; the Meta Sudans ; 
the Sepulchre of Romulus, near the Vatican ; a Portico of the Gallati 
before the Temple of tlie Sybil ; the Temple of Cicero ; the Portico of 
the Comori, or Crinori ; the Basilica of Jupiter ; the Arch of Flaminius ; 
the Porticus Severinus ; the Temple of Craticula ; the island Miliccna 
and the Draeonorium ; the Via Arenula ; the Theatre of Antoninus ; thfe 
Palace of Cromatius, where was the Holoniitreum, or Oloritreum ; the. 
Macellus Lmianus, or Eumanus (an Arch, probably that of (jallienus) ; 
tJje Temple of Marius, called Cimbcr ; the Merulana ; the arcus in La- 
tlione ; the house of Orpheus. See — Miucum. Italicum. torn. ii. p. XiZ 
to 157, edit. Paris, 1724. 



90 

fiaon liefore he came to the station prescribed by the ritual.* 
The language in which these ceremonies are described, is as 
barbarous as the ceremonies themselves ; of which a cardinal, 
who transcribed another ritual belonging to the same century j^ 
has also preserved an extraordinary specimen. It would ba 
difficult to find a more deplorable picture of human vicissitude 
<han that afforded by the contrast of the triumph of Pompey 
through republican Rome, and the progress of a Pope of the 
twelfth century, on the day of his coronation, preceded by 
his sub-doacon with a spitting-towel, followed by the new 
senators with their provision of wine, meat, and towels, and 
picking his way, amongst fallen fragments, from shrine to 
shrine, and ruin to ruin.t 

The monuments are occasionally mentioned in the struggles 
between the pontilfs and the emperors of the house of Suabia, 
and the intestine factions of the nobles, in which the strong 
places, the Coliseum, the Septizonium, the Mole of Hadrian, 
the Palatine castle of the Frangipani, were repeatedly as- 
saulted and taken. In 1150 the people attacked and took 
certain towers belonging to the adherents of the Pope and 
IVilliam of Sicily. 

We find, in the Annals for 1167, that the Germans of 

'^'" Sed propter parvitatemdiei et dlfiicultatem vis?, facit stationem ad 
Sanctani Mariam IMajorem, ct vadit in secretarium.' Ibid, mini- 17, p. 
1 26. The triumph of Aurelian lasted so long that it was dark before he 
reached the palace, but from a very different reason. " Denique vix 
iiona hora in capitoliuin pervenit. Sere autem ad palatiura," Vopisc. 
in Vita Aurelian. 

f " Ante dominum Papam aliquantulum sequestratus incedit prior 
subdiaconus regionarius cum toalca, ut cum voluit dominus Papa spuere 
possit illo gausape os suum mundare." Ordo Romanus XII by Oriciu» 
de Sal)i-His, cardinal and chamberlain to Celestine III- He was after- 
wards Honorius III The ritual was used before the year mcxcii. See — 
jftluseuni Italicum, torn. ii. p. 165 to p. 2^10. 

" Senatorcs, quando comedunt, habere debent lavinmn mediam vii>J 
ct mediam claieti in unaquaque die coronationis. Eiisdem etiam datur 
toalea, ubi comedunt, a panetariis, ft postmodujn redditiu' ipsis Pro 
quadragintacomestionom recipiunt unaquaque die coronationis '' Onufrius 
Panvinius renders lavinam "psalmam, or salmam, quo nomine sagina 
seu onus ac sarcina equi aliusque aninialis onitVri intelligitur." Ibid, 
num. xxxvi. p. 202. As the new senators had food for fortij allowed 
'hcnj, we may guess at their uenal number., which has been so uncertain. 



91 

Frederic Barbarossa assaulted the Vatican for a week, and 
the Pope saved himself in the Cohseum.* The Colonna 
were driven from the mausoleum of Augustus. After the 
Popes had begun to yield in the unequal contest with the 
senators and people, and had ceased to be constantly resident 
at their capital, the field was left open for the wars of the 
senators, that is, of the nobles themselves. The Colonna 
and Ursini then appear amongst the destroyers of the city ; 
and when, to arrest their violence, the people elected the 
senator Brancaleone (in 1252), the expedient of the Bolog- 
nese magistrate was to throw down not only 140 of the 
towers of the refractory nobles,! but, if we are to believe the 
Augustan history! of Henry VII., '' many palaces|of kings and 
ge,nerals, the remains of ages since the building of the city, 
the thermae, the fanes, and the columns," of the old town. 
If this were the case, the tumults and tlie repose of Rome 
were alike destructive of her ancient fabrics. This record 



* Annali, torn. vi. p. 576, et seq. 

t " Brancaleo interim senator Romanus, tiirres nobilium Romanorum 
diruit et eorundem dominos incarceravit." Mat Paris. Henric III p. 
972, edit. Lond. 1640. 

" Eodem quoque anno senator Romanus Brancaleo videns insolentiam 
et superbiam nobilium Romanorum non posse aliter reprimi nisi castru 
eorum, qui crant quasi spoliatorum carceres, prosternercntur, dirui fecit 
eorundem nobilium turres circitcr centum et quadraginta, et solo teniis 
complanari" Ibid. p. 975. 

" Fuerat enim supcrborum potentum et malefactorum urbis malleus et 
extirpator, et populi protector et defensor, veritatis et justitia; imitator, 
etamator." lb. p. 980. 

I " Nee hactenus subsistit viri audentis {Jacob- Joannis-Aiioti degli 
Stephanesci] acerbitas ut si quidem Brancaleonem, Bononienseiu (qui 
regum, ac ducum per tot ab urbe condita sfficula palatia, thermas, fana, 
columnas, verterat in ruinas) ipse memorabiliter sujieraret." Aibeiti 
Mussati, historia Augusta, de gestis- Henrici VII. lib. xi. rnbrica xii. ap. 
Scriptores Rerum Italicarum, torn. X. p. 508, edit. Mediol. 1727. Mus- 
satus was a Paduan, born about tbc year 1260, a laureate poet, and an 
historian. See the preface by Muratori, prefixed to the collection, torn. 
X. Sic 

Mr. Gibbon (cap. Ixix. p. 28G to 2C8, vol. xii. oct.), who has copied the 
eulogy of Matthew Paris, does not seem at all aware that Brancaleone 
applied his hammer to the ancient fabrics. Mussatus, however, was a 
contemporary. 

12 



92 

must, however, be believed with some reserve ; and, indeed, 
the same history informs us, that there were reHcs which 
escaped the vigour of this administration, and which a rival 
of the fame of Brancalcone (in 1313) intended to destroy. 
But his labours were conlincd to a single tower, which im- 
peded the passage of the people across the Tiber, at the 
bridge of Santa Maria. 

There were intervals between the death and choice of the 
Popes, when the city seems to have been unprovided with 
any recognised authorities, and the senate itself had no re- 
presentative. Such an interregnum occurred after the death 
of Nicholas IV. in 1291, and six months of civil war* are de- 
scribed by a spectator as having reduced Rome to the condi- 
tion of a town besieged, hoynbardcd, and burnt. The petrarimy 
or engines for discharging stones, which unfortunately sur- 
vived the loss of other ancient arts, had arrived in the twelfth 
and thirteenth centuries, to the pernicious perfection of dart- 
ing enormous masses, perhaps of 1200 pounds weight. They 
are noted amongst the instruments of destruction employed 
at Rome in this and the subsequent period, and were erected 
on the basilicas and towers. t 

A year previously to the attempt of the second Brancalcone,! 

* " AsBumpli populi ca|)itolia jussu 
Ascendunt: sed morte tlucis vis annua mense 
Clauditur Ursini, tiniidoque furentis in arraa 
Dt'sceusu, duni scripta petit, dum fossa sigilla. 
Quo i^radior? «juid plina soquor, quae texere longum? 
Hoc dixisse sat est; lloniam caruisse senatu. 
iMeiiHiinis exactis, heu! sex, belloque vocatum 
In scelus, insocios, fraternaque vulnera patres. 
Tornicntis jecisse viros immania saxa 
J'oi rodisse donios irabibus, fecisse ruinas 

I^iiilius, ine.-nsas turres " 

Sec — Vita I'elestiiii Papa; V. opus metricum. Jacobi Cardinalis S. 
Georgii ad veluni-aureum. Coani ct in Papatu lamiliaris. Script. Rer. 
Ital. toin. iii. p. 621, cap. iii. This classical cardinal cliooscs to correct 
r(hd)ro, the actual old word, into velum-aurcum. The trabes were bat- 
tering rams, called s;aUi, cat's-head. 

t Antiq. IMed- .'Kvi Dissert slC, p. Ir32, torn. 1. Italian edition- The 
Romans used them in the ninth century. 
I His name was Jamcs-Jolin-Arloti-Stephanisci. See the above note 



93 

the Emperor, Henry VII. had found that all the towers had 
not been thrown down by the Bolognesc senators, for he was 
obliged to drive the Annibaldi from the Torre de' Militii, from 
the tower of St. Mark, and from the Coliseum ; and, so late 
as the reign of Martin V. there were forty-four towers in 
one boi-go of the city.* 

The coronation of the Emperor Henry VII. was attended 
with battles fought in every quarter of the city from the Vati- 
can to the Lateran;t and whilst he received the ensigns of 
universal empire in the latter church, his rival John, the bro- 
ther of Robert of Naples, was in possession of the fortress 
(the church) of St. Peter's, and of several other posts in the 
heart of Rome. The fall of houses, the fire, the slaughter, 
the ringing of the bells from all the churches, the shouts of the 
combatants, and the clanging of arms, the Roman people 
rushing together from all quarters towards the Capitol — this 
universal uproar was the strange, but not unusual, pre- 
lude to the coronation of a Caesar. A spectator of these 
disasters records,! that they continued after the emperor had 
retired from Rome to Tivoli, and that the cardinals appre- 
hended the total destruction of the city. 

It is doubtful to what period to assign an account of the ruins 
which a pilgrim saw and described before this last calamity. 
The book on " the Wonders of Rome''^ which has been before 
cited, should appear to have been written before Brancaleone 

l,p. 135. The Abate Fea, Dissertazione, kc. p. 661, SG2, seems to 
overlook that this Stephanisci and his adherents did not succeed. " Sed 
secus ac pr3;med1ta(i sunt, fortuna, successusque vota eorura distraxere," 
says Mussatus, in loc citat- The Abate believes he discovers signs of 
modern work on the portico of the temple of Faustina, and above the 
arch of Pantani, which he thinks were thrown down by Brancaleone. 

* Dissertazione 26, sopra le Antichita Italiane, p- 446. torn. i. edid- Mi- 
lan, 1751. 

j " Historia Augusta, Albert. Mussati in loc. citat. lib. viii. Rubrica 
rV. conversatio Caesaris cum Romanorum principibus, et cohortatio ad 
dandas fortilitias." Henry made a speech to these princes, and called 
them '« Qiiiritesy See Rubrica V. 

J See — Iter Italicum Henrici VII. Imperat. Nicolai episcopi Botron- 
tlnensis ap. Scriptores Rerum Italicarum, torn. ix. p. 805. " Rebus 
quas narrat interfuit." Muratori says, in his preface, 

" Deinde Cardinales videntes commotionem popuH et urbis continuum 
destructionem." Ibid. p. 919. 



94 

had commenced his operations against the towers of the no- 
bles, for there arc a great many of such objects noticed by the 
pilgrim. The eyes and ears of this " barbarous topogra- 
pher"* are not so valuable to us as Mr. Gibbon appears to 
have supposed ; for notwithstanding his use of the present 
tense, he speaks certainly of many objects either partially 
ruined or totally overthrown. The number of the theatres 
and arches seen by him is nearly equal to that in the plan of 
old Rome : he talks of an imperial palace in the Palatine, of 
a palace of Romulus, and, in other respects, is ambitious of 
telling what he had heard, rather than what he had seen.t 
Of his antiquarian lore our historian has given a specimen in 
his account of the Capitoline bells and statues ;]: and to this 
may be added, that he calls the Fasti of Ovid the martyrolo- 
gy, because it contains mention of nones and kalends. The 
pilgrim was as learned as the people of Rome, some of whom, 
in the next century, believed that the sports of the Testacean 
mount, and the rolling cart-loads of live hogs down that hill? 
wci-e the festal amusements of Cato and Cicero. § 

The absence of the popes from the year 1306 to 1376 has 
been esteemed peculiarly calamitous to the ancient fabrics : 
but this supposition is founded upon the apparently false con- 
ception, that the bishops of Rome protected the monuments, 
and that the integrity of many, even of the larger structures, 
was protracted to the fourteenth century. The only protec- 
tion of which the remains of the old town could boast, during 
the middle ages, proceeded from the popular government, 

* Decline and Fall, fee cap. Ixxi. p. 399, vol. xxi. oct. 

f " Palatia magna imperatonini ista sunt, palatium majus in Paientio 
monte positum." See — Montf. Diar. Ital. in loc. citat. p. 284. 

" Palatium Uomuli inter S. Mariam novum ct S. Cosniatem ubi sunt 
duic a-des j)ietatis ct concordi», ubi posuit Romulus statuam suam auream 
dicens." " Non cadet nisi virgo paret ; slatim ut parlurit virgo, statua 
ilia corruit.'' Ibid. 

I Decline and Fall, cap. Ixxi. p. S95, torn. xii. octav. 

^^ " Ludi fiunt agonales, aut in campo quern Teslaceum appellant, queni 
nonnuili hodie ex vulgo putant veturum senatorum gestamen extitisse.'' 
See— Frederici III. ad\cnt. Rom. ap. Museum Italicum, torn. i. p. 208, 
edit. 1724. 



95 

which on one occasion prohibited the injury of the column oi" 
Trajan under the pain of death.* The senate and the peo- 
ple were invested with the nominal guardianship of the edi- 
fices not occupied by the nobles, am^ in much later times may 
be discerned to have shown some respect to the memorials of 
their ancestors. A northern German, who came to Rome in 
the pontificate of Pius IV. and whom Flaminius Vacca calls a 
Goth, applied to the apostolic chamber for permission to ex- 
cavate at the base of some of the ancient structures, in search 
of treasure, which his barbarous ancestors were supposed to 
have left behind them in the precipitancy of three days plun- 
der. The German was told that permission must be obtain- 
ed from the Roman people, to whom the monuments belong- 
ed. It seems that he procured leave to commence his la- 
bours ; but having been observed to dig deeply, the populace, 
alarmed at his progress, which endangered their arch, and in- 
dignant that the Goths should return to complete the spoliation 
of Alaric, drove the excavator from his labours, with a vio- 
lence which proved nearly fatal to him.f 

Had it been possible to establish the popular government 
which was the aim of Rienzi, during the absence of the popes, 
the Romans, whose love of liberty was to be kept alive by a 
constant reference to the institutions of their ancestors, would 
have been taught to venerate, though blindly, the trophies of 
their former glory. The tribune would not have partaken 
with Colonna alone the pride and pleasure to be derived from 
the study of those eloquent remains. Notwithstanding their 
pastor had deserted them, and they were a prey to the disor- 
ders occasioned by the struggles of their ferocious nobles, the 
period of the exile at Avignon is distinguished for the decency 
and magnificence with which their public functions were per- 
formed.! In pi'oportion as they shook off the papal yoke, 

* See note, p. 84. 

t Memorie di Flaminio Vacca, p. xvi. num. 103. The Mertioirs Avcre 
written in 1594,and areat the end of oneof the Italian editions of Nardini. 

I " Veniva la persona del Senatore con maesta a cavallo sopra bianca 
chinea, he. 

" Veniva il Gonfaloniere del Popolo Romano: e questo dignita si in 
pace, come in guerra porta lo standardo grande della liberty Romana, il 
quale era di tabi creraesino con le lettere + S. P- Q. R." 



96 

they appear to have recovered some portion of their ancient 
splendour, and a change has been observed to have taken place 
in their manners so early as the middle of the thirteenth centu- 
ry. They received the unfortunate Conradin* in 1268 with a 
state which surprised his suite. The desolation of the city 
during the papal residence at Avignon has been selected from 
ages of more rapid destruction, because it has been trans- 
mitted to us in all the colours of eloquence. Petrarch, how- 
ever, has been unfairly quoted as a proof of what Rome suf- 
fered by the absence of the popes. t It should be remember- 
ed, that his first wish was the establishment of the republic of 
Rienzi, and the second, the reign and presence of an em- 
peror at Rome : whilst the reconciliation of the shepherd 
with his flock was only the last resource which remained for a 
patriot and a Roman who had lost all hope of liberty or em- 
pire.:}: One of those shepherds. Innocent VI., thought Pe- 
trarch a sorcerer. The poet of the Capitol§ was overwhelm- 
ed first with delight and then with regret. He complained 
that the very ruins were in danger of perishing ; that the 
nobles were the rivals of time and the ancient barbarians ;|j 

See Ordine e magnificenza dc i magistral! Roman! nel tempo che l.i 
Corte del Papa stava in Avignone. Aiitiq. Med. M\]- torn. ii. p, 855, 
Dissert. 29. The writer praises not only their scarfs and velvets, but 
their justice, and virtue, and republican pride. 

* Antiq. Med. iEvi. dissert. 23. torn. ii. pag. 313. Muratori, accord- 
ing to the old way of thinking, talks of " quel ladro del lusso." 

f By the Abate Fea in his dissertation. 

\ Decline and Fall, c Ixx. pag. 3G3. tom.xli. oct. See also M^moires 
pour la vie de Petrarque, liv. iii. torn, ii p. 335. for Rienzi : also liv. iv. 
tom.iii. pag. G6. for the emperor Charles. For what he thought of the 
church, see liv. iv. p. 277. torn. iii. edit. Amsterdam, 1747. 

!^ For the surprise of Petrarch, when he first came to Rome, see his 
letter to John Colonna, de reb. familiarib. epist. lib. ii. ep. xiv. pag. 605- 
edit. Basil, 1581, "ah urbi Roma quod expectat," &lc. Colonna, how- 
ever, had told him not to expect too much. " Solebas enim, memini, 
me veniendo dehortari hoc maxime praetextu, nc ruinosse urbis aspectu 
famae non rcspondente atque opinion! meae, ex libris concepta?, ardor 
mens ille lentesceret." Colonna's evidence is better than Petrarch's, who 
would be astonished now, as we are, at what still remains. 
[I Nee te parva manet scrvatis fama minis- 
Quanta quod Integra fuit olim gloria Rom® 



97 

and that the columns and precious marbles of Rome were de- 
voted to the decoration of the slothful metropolis of their 
Neapolitan rivals. Yet it appears that these columns and 
marbles were taken from palaces comparatively modern, from 
the thresholds of churches, from the shrines of sepulchres, 
from structures to which they had been conveyed from their 
original site, and finally from/a/Zen ruins.* The solid masses 
of antiquity are not said to have suffered from this spoliation, 
and the edifices, whose impending ruin affected the laureate, 
were the sacred Basilicas then converted into fortresses.f 
The great earthquake of 1349 may have been more perni- 

Rdiquiae testautur adhuc ; quas longior Betas 

Frangere non valuit ; non vis aut ira cruenti 

Hostis, ab egregiis franguntur civibus, heu ! heu ! 

Quare rabies occurre malis, hoc scilicet unum. 
Quod ille [Hannibal) nequivit 

Perfecit hie aries — tua fortia pectora mendax 

Gloria non moveat, &c. 
Carmina Latina, 1. ii. epist. Paulo Annibalensi, xli. pag. 98. Petrarch 
presumed that the ruins around him had been occasioned by the mischiefs 
which he saw, and which were partly the cause of dila})idation. 

* The distinction is carefully to be observed. The words of Petrarch 
are: " Denique post vi aut senio collapsa pallatia, qua quondam ingentes 
tenuerunt viri, post diruptos arcus triumphales (unde majores horum for- 
sitan corruerunt) de ipsius vetustatis ac proprise impietatis fragminibus 
vilem questura turpi merciraonio captare non puduit." 

See — Epistolahortatoria ad Nichol.Laurentium. Trib. P. Q. R. de 
capessenda libertate, pag. 536- 

" Sed quo animo, da quaso misericors Pater temerarioe devotioni' mea; 
veniara, quo inquara, animo, tu ad ripam Rhodani sub auratis tectorum 
laquearibus somnium capis, et Lateranum humi jacet et ecclesiarum ma- 
ter omnium tecto carens, et ventis patet, ac pluviis, et Petri ac Pauli 
sanctissim^ domus tremunt, et apostolorum quae nunc tedes fueratjani 
ruina est." Petrarch wrote this to Urban V. who began his reign in 1352. 
Epist. rer. sen. lib. vii. epist. i. opera, pag. 815. tom. ii. 

I " Quod templa celeberrima, et sanctissima in Christianitate, augusta 
ilia monumenta pietatis Constantini Magni, ubi Summi Pontifices, cum 
insignibus supremae suas dignitatas capiunt possessionem Sedis Apostolicje 
penitus neglecta maneant, sine honore, sine ornamentis, sine instaura- 
tione, et omni ex parte ruinas minentur.'' This was the complaint of a 
deputation from the senate and Roman people to the cardinals in 1378. 
Dissertazione sulle rovine, Sic p. 369. 



98 

cious th«iii human violence, and would appear, from Petrarch* 
and from another authority,! to have thrown down some of 
the ancient monuments ; and an inundation of the Tiher in 
] 345 is faithfully recorded amongst the afflictions of the times. 
The summits of the hills alone were above the water, which 
converted the lower grounds to a lake for eight days.J 

The absence of the popes might have been fatal to the mo- 
dern city, and have reduced it to a solitude ;§ but such a soli- 
tude would have protected many a fragment, which their re- 
turn and the subsequent rapid repopulation have for ever an- 
nihilated. Their retunij| was the signal of renewed violence. 
The Colonna and Orsini, the people and the church, fought for 
the Capitol and towers, and the fortress of the popes, the re- 
fitted mole of Hadrian, repeatedly bombarded the town.** 

* " Cecidit aedificiorum veterum neglecta civibus, stupenda peregrinls 
moles," says Petrarch, lib. x. epist. 2. He confines, however, his indi- 
vidual mention — to the Tor de' Conti — to the fall of a good part of the 
church of St. Paul, and of the roof of the Lateran. 

"Turris ilia totoorbe unica, quas Comitum dicebatur, ingentibus ruinis 
laxata dissiluit, ct nunc velut trunca caput superbi verticis honorem solo 
effusum despicit," lib. x. epist. ii. oper. 

It may be suspected Petrarch did not distinguish exactly between the 
old Roman remains and tiie buildings of the papal town. The Tor de' 
Conti was built in 1203. 

t " In urbe vero cecidit qujedara columna de marmore quae sustinebat 
ecclesiam Sancti Pauli cum tcrtia parte vel circa cooperti ipsius ecclesise, 
et multa; alia; ecclesia; ibi et jedificia mirabilitcr ccciderunt" 

See — Chronicon Miitinense auctore Johanne da Bazano. Script. Rer. 
Italic, tom. xv. pag. G15. 

X Historia; Romance fragmenta, cap. xv.de lo grannissimo diluvio c 
piena de acqua de lo Fiume Tevere. See — Antiq. Med. Mvl tom. iii. p. 
392. 

5^ " Perche Roma senza la presenza de' Pontofici e piuttosto simile a 
una solitudine che a una citta," says Guicciardini, on the occasion of 
Adrian Vlth's entry into Rome. See — Dell' Istoria d' Italia, lib. xv. p. 
1015. fol. 

II In 1378, in the reign of Urban VI. the great schism began. 

'^"^ In 1 104, after the death of Boniface IX.— also in 1405— and again in 
the civil war between Innocent VII. and the Romans. " E in quello su- 
!)ito lo castclio di Sant' Angelo si ruppe co i Romani e commincio a bom- 
bardare per Roma." See — Stephan. Infessura. Scriba del senato e po- 
polo Romano. Diario della citta di Roma, ap. Script. Rer. Ital. tom. iii. 
p. ii. pag. 1115. 



99 

During the great schism of the West, the hostile entries of 
Ladislaus of Naples,* and the tumultuary government of the 
famous Perugian Braccio Montone,t arc known to have de- 
spoiled the tomb of Hadrian. J Perhaps they were fatal to 
other monuments. 

Yet that violence was probably less pernicious than the 
peaceful spoliation which succeeded the extinction of the 
schism in the person of Martin V. in 1417, and the suppres- 
sion, in 1 434, of the last revolt of the Romans by his successor 
Eugenius IV. From this epoch must be dated the consump' 
tion of such marble or travertine as might either be stripped 
with facility from the stable monuments, or be found in iso- 
lated fragments. A broken statue, a prostrate, or even a stand- 
ing column, in the habitable pait of the town, and the larger 
structures yet remaining in the vineyards, were considered by 
the owners of the land, within and without the walls, as their 
own property, and to be applied to their own use. The re- 

* Ladislaus came peaceably into Rome, on the 15th of September, 
1404; on the 20th of August, 1405, three thousand of his horse entered 
Rome, and a battle was fought in the streets near tlie castle. In April, 
1408, Ladislaus besieged the city by sea and land, and was put in posses- 
sion of all the strong places. The Colonnas and other banished nobles 
attacked the town in June. The Duke of Anjou and Paul Orsini, with 
23,000 troops, endeavoured, in 1408, to expel Ladislaus, but retired. Or- 
sini, however, returned in December, and Ladislaus was driven out. In 
141.°3 Ladislaus returned, broke, down the walls at the gate of the Lateran, 
and got possession of the city and castle. He died in 1414 : his title was, 
"hujusalmae Urbis Illuminator illustris." Fieri, in his diary, relating his 
death, says, "Cujus anima benedicatur per contrarium." See — Vendet- 
tini serie cronoiogica de' Senatori di Roma, p. 75- edit. Roma, 1778. 

f The exploits of Braccio di Montone are contained in six books, a bi- 
ography written by John Antony Campano, bishop of Terni. He flou- 
rished from ISfiS to 1424. See— Script. Rer. Ital- tom. xix. In 1417, he 
entered Rome with his ti'oops, and attacked the castle of St. Angelo, 
which was in possession of the queen of Naples, Joanna, and was obliged 
to retreat. (Ibid. pag. 545) He was captain of the peoplf for seventy 
days, and when forced to retire, out of spite to the Romans, broke the 
banks of the lake Pedelupo, pie' di Lup, in the Reatine territory, which 
caused a tremendous inundation of the Tiber, in 1422. According to 
Step. Infessura, Diar. &.c. p. 1122. loc citat. Braccio was killed in battle on 
the 2d of June, 1424. 

I See— a note on the Castle of St. Angelo. 

13 



100 

pairs commenced by Martin V., and carried on more vigor- 
ously by Eugenius,* required a supply of materials, and of ce- 
ment, which was obtained from the ruins. 

The triumpli of superstition conspired with the ignorance 
and individual necessities of the Romans, to render them more 
indifferent to the relics of pagan antiquity. Whatever nationali- 
ty and patriotism they had evinced in the times of turbulence, 
were degraded into a blind veneration for the shrines of the 
apostles, and for the person of their successor. A secretary 
of the Popes, an antiquary, and one Avho may be surely cited 
as a favourable specimen of the better class of citizens, mo- 
destly confesses, that there was some difference between the 
Rome of Eugenius IV. and that of Pompcy and the first Cas- 
sars. " At the same <ime," says he, " oicr Pontifex is indeed a 
perpetual dictator, not the successor of CcBsar, but the successor 
of the fisherman Peter, and the. -vicar of the Emperor Jesus 
Christ.1[ Besides,'''' he adds, " there are still at Rome most 
high and admirahh objects zuhich can be seen no where else. 
For this very city has the threshold of the apostles and the earth 
purple with the blood of the martyrs. It has the handkerchief 
of St. Veronica ; it has the place called ' Domine quo vadis,' 
where Christ met St. Peter, and left the raarks of his feet in the 
stone. It has the heads of Peter and Paul, the Tnilk of the 
Virgin, the cradle and foreskin of our Saviour,X the chains of 

* " Sod collapsa deformataque edificia multis in locis maximu instauras 
reficis(jue impendio" Pra^fatio ad Eugeniura IV. Pont. Max. Flavij 
Blondii. lioma instaurata, edit Taur. 15"-7. 

t Flavii Blondi. Roma Instaurata- "Dictatorem nunc perpetuuni, non 
(^ajsaris sed Piscatoris Petri successorcm et Imperatoris praedicti Vica- 
rium PontiAceni, &.c." Lib. iii. fo- 41. edit. Taurin. 1527. 

X This relic was shamefully neglected whilst the popes were at Avig- 
non. At last the Virgin appeared to St. Brigith, exclaiming, " O Roma, 
Roma, si scires, gauderes utique, immo si scires fleres incessanter, quia 
habes thesaurum mihi carissiraum, et non honoras ilium." " E forse," 
says IMarangoni, writing in the middle of the eighteenth century ! " che la 
madrc di Dio stessa indirizzd questo lamento agli ultimi secoli, e special- 
mente alio scorso XVI. nel quale, essendo quasi che spenta la venerazione, 
e memoria di questa Divina Reliqnia in Roma, questa Cittd ricevette il 
castigo di esserne privata." The relic was stolen by one of the heretics 
and loose livers of Bourbon's army, forse U piu ardito e facinoroso degli 
attri, but was found in an underground cell at Calcata, 30 miles from 



101 

St. Peter, the spousal ring sent from heaven to iht maiden Agnes. 
To see, to touch, to venerate all which and many more things, 
more than fifty thousand strangers from all parts of the zvorld 
come to Rome in the time of Lent.^^ 

These relics certainly may have preserved the existence of 
Rome, but were no protection to her ancient structures. The 
same writer notices the daily destruction of monuments, which 
lie avers to be so visible as to make him loathe the abode at 
Rome.* The fatal lime burning awakened the indignation of 
a poett to whom it appeared a new offence, and the testimo- 
ny of Blondus and ^neas Sylvius shows that there was some 
ground for the exaggeration of the angry Florentine, who hav- 
ing witnessed the destruction of some monuments, wonders 
that any remnant of antiquity should have escaped the fury 
and cupidity of the Romans. | 

Of republican Rome, Poggio reckoned the double row of 
vaults in the Capitol, constructed by Catulus, then converted 
into a public magazine for salt ; the Sepulchre of Publicius ; 
the Fabrician bridge over the Tiber ; an arch, over the road 
beneath the Aventine mount, made and approved by P. Len- 
tulus Scipio and Titus Quintius Crispinus ; the monuments 

Rome, by a noble lady, Maddelena Strozzi, after Pope Clement VII. had 
in vain given every order to recover it. The discovery was attended with 
repeated miracles, of all which an authentic account may be seen in the 
Istoria delta Capella di sancta sanctorum di Roma, cap. xxxix. edit. 1747 
by the famous Marangoni, the author of the Memoir on the Colisemn. 

* "Cujus rei tanta singulos dies videraus exempla ut ea solum raodo 
causa nos aliquantum Romse t'astidiat habitatio. Multis enim in locis vi- 
neas videmus ubi superbissima sedificia vidimus quorum quadrati lapidcs 
tiburtini in calcem sunt cocti. Lib. iii. fol. S3. 

f Oblectat me, Roma, tuas spectare ruinas, 
Ex cujus lapsu gloria prisca patet. 
Sed tuus hie populus maris defossa vetustis 

Calcis in obsequium marmora dura coquit 
Impia tercentum si sic gens egerit annos, 
Nullum hinc indicium nobilitatis erit. 
Mabillon. Mus. Italic, p. 95. torn. i. written by Picolomini to Bartholo- 
meus Roverella. 

I " Quas seepe rairor insaniam demolientium efFugisse." He is talking 
of two arches in the FlarainiaQ way. De Fortuna varietate, &c. ap. Sal- 
lengre, torn. i. p. SOO. 



102 

called the Trophies of Marius, (they belong to the time of 
Trajan) ; and the Cestian Pyramid (which is hardly of the 
time of the republic). 

Of Imperial Rome nothing was entire but the Pantheon. 
The fragments were, three arches, and one column of the 
Temple of Peace ; the Temple of Romulus, dedicated to 
Cosmas and Damianus ; a few vestiges of the double Temple 
of Castor and Pollux, at Sta. Maria Nuova ; the marble co- 
lumns of the Portico of Antoninus and Faustina ; the peripteral 
Temple of Vesia on the Tiber ; a portion of the Temple of 
Miner/a; a part of the portico of the Temple of Concord; 
the Temple of Saturn, or church of St. Hadrian ; a portico of 
the Temple of Mercury at the Pescaria ; a Temple of Apollo 
converted into a part of St. Peter's ; a very ancient temple of 
a single vault at the roots of the Tarpeian, called the church 
of St. Michael, m Stafcra, falsely supposed of Jupiter Stator ; 
the Baths of Diocletian and Severus Antoninus still so called, 
most perfect, with many columns and marbles ; the smaller re- 
mains of the Constantine Baths in the Quirinal ; the Baths of 
Alexander Scvenis near the Pantheon, (pulchra et prasclara 
vestigia ;) the Domitian Thermae, (perpauca rudera) which 
were the Baths of Titiis ; the Arches of Severus, of Titus, of 
Constantine, almost entire ; a part of one of Nerva ; a part 
of one of Trajan, near what he calls the Comitium ; two in 
the Flaminian way, one called Triopolis (the Arcus Portogalli 
or Tres Faciccllse), the other without a name ; another Arch 
of Gallienus in the Via Numentana;* one alone of all the 
nine aqueducts (fourteen he should have said) entire ; this was 
the Acqua Virgo, (and had been repaired) ; the Coliseum, the 
greater part of it destroyed for lime ; a portion of a theatre 
called of Julius Cassar between the Tarpeian and the Tiber, 
together with many marble colunms opposite to it ; part of a 
portico of a round temple, built upon, Avith gardens within, 
called of Jupiter (this seems the Theatre of Marcellus) ; an 
amphitheatre of square brick near Sante Croce in Gerusa- 

* Mr. Gibbon, cap. Ixxi. p. 398. vol. 12, has made a careless blunder 
for the sake of a j>ei iod, bj' putting this in the Flaminian way ; the words 

are positive, " Duo insuper vi. Flaminia est alter prseterea Gallieno 

I'rincipi dicatus ut suprascriptio indicat Via J^Pumentana.'^ 



103 

lemme, mixed with the city wall ;* a large open place where 
the people met ad venatio7iem et spcctaculum called agonis,] the 
Mole Div(R Adriani et Diva: Faustince, in great part destroyed 
by the Romans ; the Sepulchre of Augustus, a mound with a 
vineyard in the inside ; the column of Trajan with the in- 
scription ; the column of Antoninus Pius (Aurelius) without the 
inscription ; the Sepulchre of Cecilia Metella, the greater part 
destroyed for lime; the Sepulchre of Marcus Antius Lupus, two 
miles in the Ostian way, composed of three large stones with 
an inscription.J 

In the interval between the two visits of Poggio to Rome, 
the cell and a part of the Temple of Concord, and of the base 
of the Tomb of Metella, had been ground to lime. A portico 
near tlie Minerva was also demolished for the same purpose. 
The Romans had discovered that mortar made with white, and 
more particularly oriental marble, was more serviceable than 

* Mr. Gibbon, equally careless as before, says, " After the wonder of 
the Coliseum, Poj^gio might have overlooked a small amphitheatre of 
brick most probably for the use of the Prsetorian camp ;" but he did not 
overlook it ; here it is. 

f Which Mr. Gibbon unaccountably also reckons amongst the objects 
not seen by Poggio, together with the Theatres of MarceJlus and Pom- 
pey, and the Circus Maximus, wliose remains it is true he does not men- 
tion, and therefore prevents us from saving his credit by thinking the 
phrase he might have overlooked capable of a double construction ; our 
historian evidently meant he had overlooked them. 

X No more is found in the treatise as published in Saliengre, tom. i. p. 
501 to 508. Mr. Gibbon consulted the quarto edition published in Paris 
1723 ; but the strangest contradiction has crept into his text. In cap. Ixxi. 
he opens thus : " hi the last days of Pope Eugenius IV. two of his ser- 
vants, the learned Poggius and a friend, ascended the Capitoline hill ;" 
the note to this runs thus: " I have already (note 50, 51 in chap. Ixv.) 
mentioned the age, character, and writings of Poggius, and particularly 
noticed the date of this elegant moral lecture on the varieties of Fortune.^'' 
Turn to the cited note 51, cap. Ixv. p. S3, tom. xii. oct. " The dialogue 
de varietate Fortunm was composed a short time before the death of Pope 
Martin V. and consequently about the end of the year 1430." How are 
the two to be reconciled ? In fact Poggio himself says, " Nuper cum 
Pontifex Martinus paulo antequam diem' suum obiret, ab urbc in agrura 
Tusculanum secessit valetudinis causa," &.c, &c. 



104 

that of common stone.* The other scattered relics, particu- 
larly the columns strewed about the quarter between the Tar- 
peian rock and the Tiber, must have quic kly disappeared in 
tlie subsequent reform and decorations of the new capital. 
Poggio's description of the ruins is, it may have been observ- 
ed, not sufficiently minute or correct to supply the deficiency 
of his cotcmporary Blondus ; but we may distinctly mark that 
the site of ancient Rome had arrived at the desolation in 
which it is seen at this day. The labours of succeeding topo- 
graphers have enabled us'to account for the loss of the monu- 
ments which he enumerates, and which are no longer to be 
seen. The fabrication of churches and other buildings wa« 
continued with so pernicious an activity during the reign of 
Nicholas V. (elected in 1447) the modern Augustus, that Pius 
II. enforced the complaints which he had uttered as a poet by 
issuing a bull in 1462 de Antiqnis ctdificiis non diruendis.^ 
This prudence was but a feeble check against the renewed 
demand for materials which ensued upon the total reform of 
the city by Sixtus IV. in 1480. The Rome of tlie Republic 
had soon been lost, the capital of the early Caesars had been 
afterwards abandoned. But isolated structures of the latter 
city were found not only in the ancient site but in the Campus 
Martins. The Rome of the lower and middle ages was a mass 
of irregular lanes, built upon or amongst ruins, and surmount- 
ed by brick towers, many of them propped on ancient base- 
ments. The streets were as narrow as those of Pompeii or 
old Rome ;J two horsemen could with difficulty ride abreast. 
Two hundred houses, three towers, and three churches choked 
up the Forum of Trajan. § The reformation of Sixtus IV. 

* Some years back some kilns were discovered near Ostia full of 
broken marbles. Disscrtaaione sulle rovine, p. S74. note a. " Essendosi 
provato colla esperienza che la calce fatta col marmo bianco e coll' orien- 
tale in ispecic era maravigliosa." Ibid, 
t Dissertazionc, p. S7S. 

\ Vicinus meus est manuque tangi 
De nostris Novius potest fenestris. 

Mart. lil). i. epig. 77. 
Does this mean contiguous or opposite ? 

^ They were removed by Paul III. on the occasion of Charles V.'s 
entry into Rome in 1536, April 5. 



J 05 

H^nd the embellishments of his successors, have completely 
obliterated this town,* and that which we now see is a capital 
which can only date from the end of the fifteenth century. 

This reformation has been justly fixed upon as tlie epoch 
of the final destruction of whatever portion of the old city 
might have been confounded with the Rome of the middle 
ages. The enlargement and the straightening of the streets 
removed every obstacle, and must have consumed the bases 
of many ancient structures which had been buried under mo- 
dern fabrics, and had escaped the notice of Blondus and Poggio. 
The practice before remarked continued during the succeed- 
ing pontificate of Julius II. : statues and marbles were still 
burnt for lime, and the antiquarian taste which arose with 
the revival of letters despoiled rather than protected the 
fabrics of Rome. Paradoxical as such an asssertion may ap- 
pear, it is indubitable that in the golden reign of Leo X. the 
barbarism of defacement and destruction was at its height. 
It was during the pontificate of another of the Medici, Cle- 
ment VII. that one of the same family, Lorenzino, carried 

* The origin of this reform is attributed by Infcssura in his dairy (torn, 
iii. par. ii. p. 1145. Script. Rer. Italic.) to Ferdinand of Naples. " E par- 
lando con Papa Sisto disse, che esso non era Signore di questa terra, per 
amore de i Porticali, per le vie strette, e per li mignani, e che bisognando 
di mettere in Roma gente d'arme le donne coi mortarida i detti mignani 
li fariano fiiggire." The motive was as irresistible as the improvement 
was desirable, and Sixtus IV. followed the advice of Ferdinand. The 
Abate Fca (dissert. 372) to prove that the plan originated with Sixtus 
liiinself, says that the Pope makes no mention in his bull of having re- 
ceived the hint from any one. Nor does the Abate tell us that he bor- 
rowed his Greek knowledge from the Latin translations, nor docs that 
omission make us attach less value to his excellent dissertation on the 
ruins of Rome. The writer of tliis note will be more ingenuous than 
either Sixtus or the Abate ; he will confess that the dissertation has been 
constantly open before him during the progress of his researches, and 
that after disencumbering it of its learning, and arriving in many cases at 
conclusions entirely different, he has resorted to it freely, though never 
without acknowledgment, for such materials as could not be consulted 
witliout a reference to the Roman libraries. A character of the Abate, 
which it is clear has been very indiscreetly inserted in the posthumous 
edition of the Remarks on Italy, Mr. Forsyth never could have intended 
S*r publication. 



106 

ofT the heads of the captives on the Arch of Constantine. 
The spohation was only impeded by the plague of 1 522, and 
by the distresses of the reign of the same Clement. 

The sack of Rome by the troops of Charles V. has been 
loudly proclaimed* more detrimental than that of the Goths. 
The complaint, however, comes from those who thought no 
hyperbole too extravagant to heighten the picture of that ca- 
lamity. The churches and palaces were pillaged,! and the 
chambers of the Vatican, the frescoes of Raphael, still bear 
witness to the barbarity of the Spanish, German, and Italian 
invaders. " Statues, columns, precious stones, and many 
monuments of antiquity," are noted amongst the spoil jj but 
no memory is preserved of the attack of the standing fabrics, 
except of the Mole of Hadrian, already a modern fortress. 
The nine months ravage of the Impenalists§ was preceded by 
the three hours sack of the Colonnas,|| in 1526, and was fol- 
lowed by that of the Abate di Farfa and the peasantry of the 
Orsini family. In 1530, a tremendous inundation of the Ti- 

* Da Barga says, " Atque utinam qui nostra setate eandem urbem 
hostes ab se expugnatam depopulati sunt, hujusmodi exemplum sibi ante 
oculos possuissent." De sedificior. urb Rom. eversor. p. 1816. loc citat. 

f " Pero sarebbe impossibile non solo narrare, ma quasi imaginaisi le 
calamita di quella citta, destinata per ordine de' cieli a somma grandezza, 
raa eziandio a spesse distruttioni ; perchfe era I'anno novo cento e ottanta, 
ch'era stata saccheggiata da' Gotti ; impossibile a narrare la grandezza 
della preda essendovi accumulate tante richezze, e tante cose pretiose e 
rare di cortigiani e di mercatanti." Guicciard. dell' Istoria d'ltalia, lib. 
xviii. p. 1266. edit Ven. 1738. 

" Non avendo rispetto non solo al nome de gli amici, e all' autorita, e 
dignita de' prelati, ma eziandio a' tetnpli a' monasterii, alle reliquie, mi- 
rate dal concorso di tutto il mondo e delle cose sacre." lb. p. 1265. 

I " Resto Roma spogliata dell' esercito non solo d'una parte grande de 
gli abitatori con tante case desolate, e distrutte, ma eziandio spogliata di 
statue, di colonne, di pietre singulari, e di moiti ornamenti d' antichita." 
Ibid pp. 1302, 1303. 

5^ Rome was assaulted by Bourbon, tlie 5th of May, 1527, and the 
Imperialists left it the 17th of February, 1528. Guicciard. p. 1302. 

IJ " Saccheggiavano il palazzo, e le cose e ornamenti sacri della chiesa 
di San Pietro : non avendo maggiore rispetto alia maestri di religione e 
all' orrore del sacrilegio, che avessino avuto i Turchi nelle chiese del 
regno d'Ungheria" Lib. xvii. p- 1213- 



107 

ber is said to have ruined edifices both pubhc and private, and 
to have been equally calamitous with the sack of Rome.* 
Yet these disasters seem chiefly to have atlected the houses 
and a few churches, and were soon repaired in the splendid 
pontificate of the succeeding Popes. So rapidly did they 
proceed with the embellishment of the new capital, that the 
city of Paul 111. was hardly to be recognised in the time of 
Urban VIII. t The former destruction was renewed. The 
bull of Paul III. issued in 1534, which made it a capital and 
unpardonable offence to grind downj' statues or pieces of mar- 
ble, and appointed an antiquarian commissary to enforce the 
law, extended nominally to the architectural remains ; yet we 
know that portions of the ruins were employed in modem 
buildings by that Pope himself, and were afterwards consumed 
for the same purpose. The Farnese, the Mattei, the Bor- 
ghese, and the Barberini, searched for and collected the sta- 
tues§ and inscribed marbles, to adorn their museums ; but 
their palaces either levelled or consumed many fragments 
which could not be preserved as the walls of modern buildings. 
The stupendous vaults of the Diocletian thermae were con- 
verted into churches, II the walls of those of Constantine were 
adjusted into the Rospigliosi palace.** The Alexandrine 
thermae supplied with columns the repairs of the Pantheon.tt 

* Annali d' Italia ad an. 1530, torn. x. p. 242. There wns another ter- 
rible inundation in 1557, and another still more dreadful in isns. 

t It is Donatiis who says, that if Charles V. weie to come back to 
Rome in Urban VIIL's time, he would not recognise the city which he 
had seen from the top of the Pantheon. Roma Vetus, lib. i cap. xxix. 

t Dissertazione sulle rovine, p. 375. The edict is there given, address- 
ed to the commissary Lucio Manetti. 

?^ There were a great many portable antiquities dispersed in the time 
of Fabricius (1550): bas reliefs and other pieces of sculpture, scattered 
about in various parts of the city, and exposed to injury. Yet there were 
five antiquarian museums then in Rome. Dcscriptio Romse, cap. xx. and 
xxi. ap. Grsev. Antiq. tom. iii. 

II S. Maria degli Angioli, by Pius IV. who employed M. Angelo ; and 
S. Bernardo alle terme, changed into a church by a private individual, 
Catherine Sforza, Countess of S. Flora, in 1598. 

** Great remains of the Baths of Constantine were seen in the age 
before Donatus. Lib. iii. cap. xy. 
ft By Alexander VII. 

H 



108 

A circus was gradually cleared away for the opening of the 
piazza Navona. The summer-house of the Farnese rose 
from the ruins of the Palatine. The marhle threshold and 
broken columns from which Poggio* had contemplated the 
vicissitudes of fortune, were removed, and probably employ- 
ed in the construction of the new capitol of Michael Angclo. 
The marble of a temple on the Quirinal was cut into the 124 
steps which ascend to the church of Araca^li.t We have 
before noticed the destruction of ancient monuments by the 
Popes, and it is equally evident that the Pontiff's were, on the 
restoration of Rome, powerfully seconded by the luxury and 
taste of the prelates and princes. Flaminius VaccaJ leads 
us to believe, that in his time, the latter half of the sixteenth 
century, it was usual for the sculptors to cut their statues from 
columns ; and he narrates, that Cardinal Cesi titted up a 
chapel in Santa Maria della Pace, with statues and prophets 
worked from the pilasters found behind the conser\'ators' pa- 
lace on the Tarpeian rock, and believed to be a part of the 
Temple of Jupiter Stator. The great palace of the Cancel- 
laria of Riario§ had before robbed a part of the Coliseum, 
and levelled some remains of baths, or of an arch of the 
Emperor Gordian. The infinite quantity of precious mar- 
bles which adorns the churches of Rome, must have been 
chiefly extracted from the ancient relics ; and, with the ex- 
ception of those belonging to edifices converted to sacred 
purposes, or to pontifical buildings, the greater part of the 
superb columns of these churches must have been removed 
from their ancient site. We are obliged to the designs of 
Raflfael and Palladio for the appearance of some fabrics now 
destroyed ; and those who peruse the topographers from 
Blondus to Nardini will assign to the latter half of the fif- 

* " Consedimus in ipsis Tarpejae arcis minis, pone ingens portse cujus- 
dam marmorcum limen, plurimasque passim confractas columnas.". . . 
de Fortunse Variet. Ap. 501. loc. citat. 

t By gift of Otto the Milanese, Senator of Rome. Tliis was at an 
earlier period, about 13-18. 

X Memorie, num. 64, p. xi. in fin. Nardini. 

^ It was begun by Cardinal Mezzarota, and finished by Cardinal Ra- 
phael Riario. The architect -a as Bramantc Lazzari. Roma moderna, 
da Venuti, itc. torn, i. p. 203. Rione vl 



109 

teenth century, and the succeeding 1 50 years, a greater ac- 
tivity of destruction than to those immediately preceding 
ages, in which we have no authentic writers to tell us what 
was left, or what was lost. 

Besides the devastation before noticed, it may be remark- 
ed, that Donatus gives an account of remains of Therms 
Oli/mpiadis, Thermce Jiovatiance, on the Viminal hill ;* that 
the same topographer saw something of the Thermae of 
Agrippa, and also of those of Nero or Alexander; that the 
fragment of a temple, supposed of the Sun, built by Aurelian, 
now in the Colonna gardens, was then raised upon a portion 
of the wall of that building ; that Marlianus had seen the arch 
dedicated to Gratian, Valentinian and Theodosius ; that the 
circus called Flaminius had very determinable vestiges when 
seen by Laetus, Fulvius, and Marlianus, but is talked of by 
Nardini as no longer in existence ; that the same writers had 
observed many more relics of the Theatre of Pompey than 
could be traced in the next age, although they were so small, 
even before their time, as to be overlooked by Poggio ; that 
a huge fragment behind the Pantheon, called by some Tem- 
plum Boni Eventus, has disappeared since Nardini wrote ; that 
the remains of the Minervium, distinctly seen by Fulvius and 
Marlianus, and not altogether lost in the middle of the last 
century,! are also consumed ; that the vaulted cell of a struc- 
ture in the Vatican, called a temple of Apollo, or of Mars, and 
seen in the pictures of the Vatican library, has been incorpo- 
rated or lost in the baptistry of St. Peter's. 

The embellishment of the rising city vigorously pursued till 
the middle of the seventeenth century, was the first object of 
the Pontiffs : the preservation of the architectural remains 
appears to have been a rare and secondary design. When that 
embellishment had ceased to be the passion of the Popes, the 
dilapidation may be supposed to have been discontinued. 
The last recorded destruction was that before mentioned of the 
arch in the Corso, by Alexander VII. No other ancient fa- 
bric can perhaps be proved to have been purposely thrown 



* Lib iii. cap. xi. 
t See — Venuti Roma Moderna, torn. i. p. '272, Rione ix. 



110 

down or defaced since that period. A fragment of the Coli- 
seum, which was shaken to the ground in the earthquake of 
1 703, was laudably employed in constructing the stairs of the 
Ripetla. 

The frequent repairs of the Pantheon, those of the Anto- 
niue and Trajan columns, the erection of the obelisks, the re- 
storation of the Cestian pyramid, and the late protection of 
the Flavian amphitheatre, with that of the arch of Constan- 
tine,* seem to compose the sum of all the merits of all the 
Popes, as far as respects the stable fabrics of antiquity. The 
Romans of the present day are not the last to allow, that until 
the late usurpation, either the will, or the means, or the me- 
thod, JKul been wanting effectually to oppose the ravages of 
\ iolcnce and time. The taste and magnificence of the Popes 
must besought, and will be found, in the museums of the Va- 
tican and the Capitol. It was reserved for the conquerors 
who plundered those noble repositories to recompense Rome 
for her losses, by clearing away the offals and dirt, which had 
accumulated for ages round buried temples, and under the 
wijidows of the Senate House, by cleansing the base, and prop- 
ping the porches of the Coliseum, by removing the soil in 
front of the Temple of Peace, by re-opening the Baths of Ti- 
tus, and, finally, by excavating the Forum of Trajan, a work 
of itself superior to all the meritorious exertions of Sixtus 
Quintiis and Braschi. The impulse given by the late ephe- 
meral government still continues the labours in the Forum, 
and the repairs of the Coliseum ; and the attention of the 
Pontiffs being at last directed to the preservation of relics, 
which have succeeded to the attraction once possessed by 
their spiritual treasures, it may be hoped that tlie ruins of 
Rome have no more to dread from outrage or neglect. The 
inundations of the Tiber have of late years been either less 
violent, or are more easily reduced, tlian in the days of igno- 

* In 17Sd, by Clement XII- to whom, in the interior of the wall, sunk 
rovind the arch, is the following inscription. Clement XII- Pont. Max. 
quod arcum Imp. Constantino Magno erectum, ob relatam salutari cru- 
cis signo victoriauj, jam temporum injuriia fatiscentem veteribus redditis 
urnamcnlis restituerit. Anno D- 1733. Pont- iii. S. P. Q. R. Optimo 
Principi ac prislina) majestatis inbis adsertorl. Pos. — The senate and 
people took c;u-e to record their credulity as well as their gratitude. 



Ill 

ranee and distress.* With the exception of the cell of the 
temple, now called Minerva Medica, which was thrown down 
in 1812, no earthquake has, since the beginning of the last 
century, materially injured the ancient fabrics. What re- 
mains of them so nearly resembles the earliest authentic ac- 
count of the ruins, that we may indulge a persuasion that they 
will still resist for ages the unassisted assaults of time. 

Stanza LXXIX. 
The Scijrios^ tomb contains no ashes now. 

This may be ; but the handsome though plain sarcophagus 
of Barbatus may, by those of a certain taste, be thought more 
attractive than any of the masterpieces of the Vatican. The 
eloquent simple inscription becomes the virtues and the fel- 
low countrymen of the defunct, and instructs us more than a 
chapter of Livy in the style and language of the republican 
Romans, t 

The vault itself has been emptied of the slabs and inscrip- 
tions, and the copies fixed in the spot where they were found, 
may be thought ill to supply the place of the originals. The 
local impression would have been stronger ; but the preserva- 
tion of the precious i-elics would have been less sure in the 
vault than in the museum. The discovery of the tomb of the 
Scipios was not an unmingled triumph for the Roman anti- 
quaries. It would not be easy to exemplify more stronglj' 
than by this instance, the error and uncertainty of their re- 
searches. A fragment of peperine, evidently detached from 
this vault, with an incription to Lucius, son of Barbatus Sci- 

* All the latter inundations of the Tiber are noted on the columns, 
which serve as hydrometers at the Ripetta. 

f CORNELIUS .LUCIUS. SCIPIO . BARB ATUS . GNAIVOD . PATKE PROG- 

NATUS , FORTIS . VIR . SAPIENSqUE . QVOIVS . FORMA . VlRTUTEl . PARISU- 

MA . FUIT CONSOL . CENSOR . AIDILIS . qUEI . FUIT • APVD . YDS . TAU- 

RASIA . CISAUNA S AMNIO . CEPIT . SVBIGIT . OMNS . lOVCANA . OBSIDES- 

QUE . ABDovciT. This inscription is in four lines. 

Nine other inscriptions were discovered in this family tomb : they are 
copied into the new edition of Venuti. published in Rome, 1803, parte ii. 
cap i p. 5, et seq- 



112 

pio, had been discovered in the year mdcxv, near the Porta 
Capena, and was neglected as bad grammar and an evident 
foi^ery.* The objectoi-s quoted Cicero to prove that the 
tomb of the Scipios must be rvithout the Porta Capena, and 
lorgot that the Aurelian walls had brought forward that gate 
beyond the Ciceronian sepulchre. The authenticity of the 
inscription was not without protectors, but the error balanced 
the lact, and the epitaph was occasionally quoted as apoory- 
phal,t until the accident which uncovered the actual tomb in 
1 780. Those who had not supported the mistake, could not 
but be gratiiied by a discovery so precious both to the philo- 
logist and the antiquary, and the happy accident was consign- 
ed to immortality in tlie very eloquent, but rather dull, dia- 
logues of the dead, whom the Conte Verri evoked in those 
sacred vaults. 

The pyramid which once stood in the line from the castle 
of St. Angelo to the Vatican was called the tomb of Scipio 
Africanus, on tlie authority of Acron, a scholiast on Horace.^ 
and the Pine in the Belvedere was thought to belong to that 
monument.^ 

*HONC OlSO PLOIRVMF. COSEXTIONT- R. 
PVONORO ■ OPTVMO FVISSK VIRO 
tVCIOM . SCUMONE • FILIOS BARBATI 
COASOL CENSOR- AIDILIS. HIC FVET . A 
HEC CEPIT. CORSICA . ALERIAQVE . VRBE 
liEUET TEMPESTATEBVS AIDE MERETO- 

Hunc unum plurimi consentiunt Roinse 

Bonorinn «tptimum fuissc virum 

Lucium Scipioriem Filius Barbati 

Consol, Censor, ^djlis hie fiiit 

Hie cepit Corsicam, Aleriamque iirbem 

Dedit Teinpestatibiis ffdem merito. 
Sec Aiitiqiise inscriptionis explanatio. ap. Grsev. Antiq. Rom. torn. iv. p 
IftSJ, R(>ina\ 1616. AVinkelmann quotes it as authentic. Storia, Sic. 
lib. viii. cap. viii. torn. ii. p. 15S. edit, citat, 

t The padre Eschinard and his editor Venuti placed the tomb without 
I he modern Porta Capena, opposite to ihe chapel called "Dominequo 
^'adis," and gave a long; description of it. See Descrizione di Roma e 
dell' agro Romano, corretto dall' abate V^enuti in Roma, 1750. Ecbioard 
and his editor arc full of gratuitous applications. 
t Nardini Roma Vetus, lib- viii. cap. xiii. 
i G. Fabricii dcscriptio Romze, cap. xx- 



113 

Stanza LXXIX. 
T%c very sepulchres lie tenantless. 

The period at which the sepulchres were emptied of their 
ashes must have been, first, that in which the Christians 
prowled about in every quarter for reUcs, and thought a 
church could be consecrated without such a recommenda- 
tion.* Eight and twenty cart-loads of relics could not be 
procured for the Pantheon without some diligence and da- 
mage to the repositories of the pretended saints ;t and we 
know that the eagerness of the search extended to sepulchres 
where the symbols of martyrdom were very equivocal, ornot 
to be discovered at all-l Astolphus the Lombard, when he 
besieged Rome in 755, dug into the cemeteries of many 
saints, and "carried away their bodies, to the great detriment 
of his own soul," although from the most pious of motives .. 
and these saints were doubtless supposed to be found in any 
of the thousand tombs in the neighbourhood of Rome.§ 
Either this motive, or the expectation of finding the ornaments 
frequently buried with the dead, had encouraged a crime 
which it was found necessary to check by laws in early times, 

■* See the letter of St. Ambrose on the discovery of St. Genaise and 
St. Protaise, in which he says, lie sent his audience who begged a church 
of him (" respondi, faciam si martyruni reliquias invenero,") to look for 
relics. St. Paul appeared to Ambrose, and told him to build a church in 
honour of these martyrs. Epist. segregata;, ep. ii. p. 41! t. edit. IGOO. 

t See a note on the. Pantlieon. 

J " Era dunque incredibile in que' secoli di ferro 1' avidita deile sacro 
reliquie." See Dissertazione, 58, sopra Ic antichita Italiane, torn. iii. p. 
245, edit. Milan, 1751. Theodoric, bishop of Metz, a relation of Olho 
the Great, when he came to Rome, took a liking to the chain of St. Peter. 
He happened to be present with the court and Emperor when Pope John 
XII. held out the chain to a sick courtier to bite and be cured. " Di 
buone griffe avea questo prelato," observes Muratori ; the bishop snatched 
at the chain, and declared they might cut his hand off, but he would not 
give it up. A struggle ensued, and the Emperor compounded with the 
Pope for a link. Page 246. 

^ " 31ulta corpora sanctorum, effodiens eorum cemeteria ad magnum 
anim» suae detrimentum abstulit" Anastas. in vit. Stephan ii. aut. iii. 



Ill 

some of which are extant in the codes. The practice was con- 
tinued to the reign, and it is doubtful whether it was not con- 
nived at by an edict, of Thcodoric,* who wished to discourage 
the practice of impoverishing the hving for the decoration of 
tlie dead. 

At the fall of the empire of Charlemagne, and the rise of 
the feudal lords of Italy, the size of some of the tombs must 
have made the occupation of them a military object, as in the 
case of the two great mausoleums, and of Cecilia Metella ; 
and in the subsequent periods of repair, the marbles with 
which (hey were decorated would expose them to easy spolia- 
tion. The urns and sarcophagi, when of precious materials, 
were, without scruple, transported from their site and emptied 
for the reception of purer ashes. Two of the Popes, Inno- 
cent II. 1 and Clement XII. ,| repose in the marbles, which, if 
they did not before receive the bones of Hadrian and Agrip- 
pa, were certainly constructed for heathen tenants ; and the 
examples arc innumerable of meaner Christians, whose re- 
mains are enveloped in the symbols of paganism. It should 
be recollected that the mythological sculpture on sarcophagi 
was continued long after the introduction of Christianity, and 
that when the relations of a defunct went to a repository to 
select a tomb, they were not scrupulous about the emblems, 
or were ignorant what they represented. A bishop. Avhosc 
stone coffin is seen in the Basilica of St. Loicnzo, witJxoxd the 
wallfi, is enclosed in has reliefs representing a marriage ; this 
probably belonged to some Pagan body before it held the 
bishop ; but the Christians were sometimes the tirst tenants 
of these heathen-scul])(ured tombs. 

Humbler tombs were applied to other services : many arc 
now cisterns. The church of St. Paul, zoithotU the walls, was 

* Cassiod- Aariar. lib. iv. epist. S4. 

f Pictrl. Manlii. opusciihim historise sacrae ad beatiss. pat. Alexand. 
Ill- pout. Max. ap. Acta Sanctorum, torn. vii. part ii. p. 67 edit. Antw. 
1717. This doubtful author (see a note on the Castle of Saint Angelo) 
mentions tliat the porphyry sarcophagus, in whicii Hadrian was buried, 
was transferred to the Lateran for the service of Innocent II- 

X Clement XII. is buried in the Lateran in a beautiful porpliyry sarco- 
pliagus, which was taken from ene of the niches under the porch of the 
Pantheon. 



115 

paved with gravestones taken from the Ostian Way. A name 
was no protection in the days of ignorance : and the depositcs 
of the mausoleum of the Caeisars, when they could not be con- 
verted to profit, were applied to vulgar uses. Some respect 
might have been paid to a stone thus inscribed : 

The Bones 

Of Agrippina, the daughter of M. Agrippa, 

The grand-daughter of the divine Augustus, 

The Wife 

Of Germanicus Caesar, 

The mother of C. Caesar Augustus 

Germanicus, our prince.* 

But with these letters in large characters, staring them in the 
face, the Romans used this stone as a measure for 300 weight 
of corn, and the arms of their modern senate are sculptured 
upon one of its sides, in a style worthy of the " rude age," to 
which a modest inscription ascribes the misapplication. The 
sarcophagus, a huge cubic stone, is standing in the court of 
the conservators' palace in the capitol, and is at this time per- 
haps scarcely preserved with so much care as might be claim- 
ed by a memorial of the only virtuous female of the Julian 
race. The pilgrim of the Xlllth century tells us that he saw 
these words over one of the cells of the mausoleum of Augus- 
tus. " These arc the bones and ashes of J\''erva, the Em- 
peror.^^t 

The bones and ashes of emperors have been dispersed in 
the ruins of this great sepulchre, which, from being choked 
np as a fortress, was hollowed out for a vineyard, and, having 
at last become a circus, serves for the bull-feasts of the sum- 
mer festivals. Some less illustrious ashes have been pre- 

* Ossa. 

Agrippiiwe . M. Agrippa? . 

Divi . Aug. Neptis. Uxoris. 

Germanici . (-ajsaris . 
Matris . C Caesaris . Aug. 
Germanici . Priiicipis. 
\ " Haec sunt ossa et ciiiis Nei-va; Imperatoris." Liber de mirabilibus 
Romse. ap. Montfaucon. Diarium Italicum, p. 293. 

15 



116^ 

served, or supplied in the columbaria of the two families, 
whose vaults are shown in the garden in which stands the ruin 
called Minerva Medica.* But when the tombs were above 
ground, the cells were soon rifled and stripped of their orna- 
ments. In later ages the pyramid of Cestius was broken and 
ransacked for gold.t The tombs of the " happy dead" are 
become the huts of the wretched living, and the Appian Way 
may now humble the pride, but will hardly contribute to the 
consolations of philosophy.! 

The museums have stripped these populous cemeteries of 
their memorials. The six thousand freedmen§ of the Augus- 
tan household have been transferred, at least some of their 
obscure names, to the Capitol. A more judicious plan has 
lately been adopted at the instance of the Marquis Canova, 
who has adjusted some of the fragments, and the inscription 
of the sepulchre of the Servilian family, || and raised them 
where they were found. It may be observed that the great 
approaches to the cities were not marked by tombs alone, but 

* The freedmen of Lucius A.rruntius, consul in the reij^n of Tiberius, 
and those of some nameless or unknown family. 

t Ariu^hi, Roma Subterranea, lib. iii. cap. i. num. 7. torn. i. p. 405, 
tells the story as a fact, or a conjecture, from Bosius, who has also made 
a thick volume on subterranean Rome. That volume and the two folios 
of Arinj^hi, connecting the history of Rome with that of mart3'rdom, 
may serve to show what was likely to become of the monuments in the 
hands of those who thought all that was worth looking for was under 
ground, and spurning the triumphal arches and columns of Pagan heroes, 
dived into cemeteries and catacombs in search of the founders of the 
city of God. 

I " An tu egressus Porta Capena cum Calatini, Scipionum, Servilio- 
rum, Metellorum sepulchra vides miseros putas illos ?" Tuscul. Qu. 
lib. i. 

5^ The three sepulchral chambers containing the urns of the household 
of Augustus were discovered opposite the first milestone on the Appian 
Way, and that of the family of Livia was opened in 1726, a little be- 
yond. See Ant. Franc. Goii. de libertor. calumbario- ap. Poleno. torn, 
iii. 

II M. SERVILIVS QVARTVS 
D£ SVA PECVNIA FECIT. 

" Fragraenta ad sepulc. hoc an. d. 1808, a canova. reperta ac donata. 
pivs. VII. p. M. ita in perpet. servanda consuluit." 



I 



11^ 

partly by suburban villas, and tradesmen's houses, and semi- 
circular seats. Thus they were frequented as public walks, 
and the beauty of the sepulchres, together with the religion 
of the people, and the wisdom of the higher orders, pre- 
vented any melancholy reflections from being suggested by the 
receptacles of the dead. Those who have seen the street of 
the tombs at Pompej will feel the truth of this observation.— 
The Appian sepulchres extend, at short intervals, for several 
miles — let us fill the intermediate spaces with handsome edi- 
fices — restore the despoiled marbles to the tombs themselves 
— then imagine that the same decorations adorned all the 
other thirty great roads"^ which branched off from the capital ; 
add to this also the banks of the Tiber, shaded with villas 
from as far as Otricolit on the Sabine side to the port of Ostia, 
— with these additions, which it appears may be fairly sup- 
plied from ancient notices, we shall account for the immense 
space apparently occupied by the city and suburbs of old 
Rome. 

Stanza LXXXI. 
we but ftel our way to err. 



The greater share of satisfaction at Rome will come to the 
portion of those travellers who find, like Dante, a pleasure 
in doubting. The stranger, when he has entered the modern 
city, would, at least, wish to assure himself that he knows the 
site of ancient Rome. He has, however, to clear his ground 
of some of the conjectures of the learned, even before he 
can persuade himself thoroughly of this fact. He soon will 
believe that the circuit of the present walls is somewhat bigger 

* There were twenty-nine according to one account, and thirty-one 
according to another! Fam. Nardini. Roma Vetus, lib. viii. cap. i. 

t Otricoli, the ancient Otriculum, is xxxvi. M. P. from Rome. Some 
writers thought the town stretched as far as this, but even Vossius gives 
up this absurdity, (De magnit. Romse Vet- cap. v. ap. Graev. Antiq Rom. 
torn, iv.) the villas however might. See Nardini Roma Vetus, lib. viii. 
cap. ii. Donatus de urbe Roma, lib. i. cap- xvi. 



118 

tlian the region of the old Esquihas, and more than a two 
hundredth part of the Augustan city.* 

But he will not find it quite so easy to reconcile the various 
measurements with the actual appearance of the walls, or to 
understand how, as Mr. Gibbon tells us, " their circumference, 
except in the Vatican, has been invariably the same, from the 
triumph of Aurelian to the peaceful but obscure reign of the 
Po/;f5."t If so, it was the same, tirst, when Alaric took 
Rome ; secondly, M^hen the dominion of the Popes was es- 
tablished ; thirdly, at this day. 

The circuit, diminished from the fifty miles of Vopiscus, 
" is reduced, by accurate measurement, to about twenty-one 
miles," says Mr. Gibbon, in his eleventh chapter.^ This 
gives his measurement for the first period. But when Poggio 
saw them, " they formed a circumference of ten miles, in- 
cluded 379 turrets, and opened into the country by thirteen 
gates. "§ This serves for the second date. Lastl}', "what- 
ever fancy may conceive, the severe compass of the geo- 
grapher defines the circumference of Rome within a line of 
twelve miles and three hundred and forty-five paces. "H 
These words of the same historian apply to the third point of 
time. 

Now it is quite clear that all these measurements differ, 
and yet it is equally clear that the historian avers they are all 
the same. He says, in another place, speaking of them in the 

* " Vel solae Esquilise majores erant, quam sit totum illud quod hodier- 
nis iiicluditur 11111113 spuiuin.' Isa. Vossii de raagnit. Rom. Veteris, p. 
1507. ap. Graev. torn. iv. To have a perfect notion of the loj^ic of learn- 
in*;, it is suffi'-ient to read this insane treatise, which spreads the walls to 
7£ miles, and the inhahirants to 14 millions. There is scarcely an incon- 
trovertihle position in all his seven chapters. Lipsius is not quite so para- 
doxical in his ciinclusions, and he is much more ingenious in his array of 
anthorities — hisRomt- is '^3 miles. 

I Diciine and Fall, cap. xli vol. vii. oct. p. 228. 

I l!)id. vol ii. oct. p. m. See also another place. " When the capital 
of the empire was besii-ged hy the Goths, the circuit of the walls was 
accurately measured by Aniaionius the mathematician, who found it 
€i|u:\l U> twenty-fine miles.'' Cap xxxi. torn. xii. oct. p. £87. 

>N Di'cline and Fall, cap. Ixxi. torn. xii. oct. p. d98. 

II Ibid. cap. xli. p. 2i7. 



119 

age of Petrarch, the walls " still described the old circumfer- 
ence."* It is true he cites authorities ; but he speaks with- 
out reserve, and has not attempted to account for the differ- 
ence between the three above-given dimensions. We shall 
find no help, therefore, from the Decline and Fall of the Ro- 
man Empire, unless we follow only one of these various ac- 
counts, and beheve in the third computation, which is that as- 
signed by D'Anville from Nolli's map, and which coincides 
with the experience of two of our countrymen, who made a 
loose calculation! of the circuit by walking round the walls in 
the winter of last year, (1817). 

Poggio's measurement was probably nearly exact, for he 
did not reckon the ramparts of Urban, and, perhaps, not the 
Vatican ; but it is singular, that the pilgrim of the thirteenth 

* Ibid. cap. Ixxi. p. 411. torn. xii. Mr. Gibbon has failed to observe 
that the walls were dilated after Aurulian and Probus, by Constantine, 
who took down one of the sides of the Praetorian camp, and made the re- 
maining three serve for the fortifications of the city, whose circuit thereby 
became necessarily somewhat enlarged. 

t The following is a note of their walk. They set out from the banks 
of the Tiber, near the Flaminian gate (Porta del Popolo); their rate of 
walking was 592 paces in five minutes, and they noted the time from gate 
to gate. To the Porta Pinciana (shut) 18 minutes — Porta Salara 8 — 
PortaPiaS — a shut gate (Querquetulana) 12 — St^ Lorenzo 8 — Maggiore 
7 l-£— Lateran,orPortaSt. Giovanni, 12 1-2— Porta Latina (shut) 17 1-2 
— Porta Capena, or St. Sebastiano, 4 1-4 — a shut gate 3 3-4 — Porta di 
St. Paolo (Ostian) 14 1-2 — delay 4 1-2 — within the wall, the outer circuit 
not being accessible, 4 3-4 — delay 7 — within the walls down to the Tiber 
C 1-2 — delay 4 — bank of the Tiber within ruined wall 10 3-4 — delay occa- 
sioned by going across the Tiber to the opposite corner S8 1-2 — from 
bank of the Tiber to Porta Portese 1-2 — Porta Aurelia, or S. Panerasio, 
13 1-2 — Porta Cavalli leggieri 14 1-4 — a shut gate (Porta delie Fornaci) 
2 1-2— Porta Fabbrica (shut) 6— Porta Angelica 14 1-4— Porta Castello 
(a shut gate) 5 1-4 — round to the corner of the bastion of St. Angelo, on 
bank of the Tiber, 7 3-4 — along the bank of tlie Tiber where there are no 
wails, to the ferry at the Ripetta 7 1-4 — delay 10 1-4 — crossing the Tiber 
and walking along the bank to the corner of the walls whence they set 
out, 6 1-2. — The time employed in walk was 4 hours, 38 minutes ; the 
delays amounted to one hour, four minutes, and a quarter. The time ta- 
ken walking round the actual circuit of the city was three hours, thirty- 
three minutes, and three quarters. Supposing the rate of walking to be 
about three miles and a half an hour, the measurement is twelve miles and 
9. quarter. 



120 

century, who undoubtedly saw the same walls, and ehutnerates 
very nearly the same quantity of turrets, should* give to them 
a circumference double that of the Florentine, and nearly co- 
inciding with that of the time of Alaric, that is, twenty-one 
miles. If, however, they were so accurately measured at that 
time, the present walls cannot possibly stand on the site of 
those of Aurelian ; for, since the Vatican has been included, 
and also the ramparts of Urban VIII., which Mr. Gibbon has 
overlooked, or falsely confounded with the Vatican, the mo- 
dern circuit being larger on one side the Tiber, and the same 
on the other, it is evident that the whole circumference at pre- 
sent must be greater than it was under Aurelian. That is to 
say, twelve miles, three hundred and fifty-five paces, are more 
than twenty-one miles — " 7i}hich is absurd.''^ 

The present walls may touch at points and take in frag- 
ments, but they cannot include the same circumference as the 
twenty-one miles accurately measured by the mathematician 
Ammonius. Some assistance might be expected from the ex- 
amination of the walls themselves : but here again it may be 
necessary to warn the reader in what manner he is to under- 
stand an assertion which he will find in another work, lately 
published, of the same author.t " Those zoho examine with 
attention the walls of Rome, still distinguish the shapeless stones 
of the frst Romans, the cut marbles with zohich they were con- 
structed under the Emperors, and the ill-burnt bricks with which 
they were repaired in the barbarous agesJ'^ Now the whole of 
the modern walls are of brick, Avith the following exceptions. 
There are some traces of the arched work on which the walls 
of Aurehan, perhaps, were raised, about the Porta Pia and the 
Porta Salara. There are buttresses of travertine, and, in one 

* " Murus civitatis Romse habet turres S6l. Castella id est merulos 
6900, portas 12, ])usterulas (portse minores) 5. In circuitu vero sunt mil- 
liaiia 22, exceptis Transtiberim ct civitate Leonina id est porticu St. Pe- 
tri." Lib. de mirabilibiis Ronnas, in loc. citat. p. 283. 

\ " Ceux qui examinent avec attention les murailles de Rontje distin- 
guent encore les pierres informes des premiers Remains, les marbres bien 
travailles dont on les construisit sous les Empereurs, et les briques malcui- 
tes dont on les reparoit dans les siecles barbares." Nomina gentesque an- 
tiquse Italise, p- 209- 



i 



il 



121 

case (the Porta Capena), of marble, about the gateways, which 
are of the same imperial date. There are single shapeless 
fragments of marble here and there, mixed up with the more 
modern work, and occasionally laid upon the top of the walls. 
This is all that can apply to Mr. Gibbon's description ; for as 
to the shapeless stones of the first Romans, they cannot be dis- 
covered, except in those scarcely distinguishable mounds 
which are within the walls, a little beyond the Thermas of Dio- 
cletian, and are usually thought part of the Tullian rampart.* 
It must be remarked also, that there is no evidence that the 
walls of the Emperors were of cut marble. The authority of 
Cassiodorus has been followed by Marlianust and others, as af- 
fording a proof that they were composed of square blocks. — 
But it has been noted by Nardini,| on another occasion, that 
the Gothic minister, in making use of the word nicenia, does not 
always allude to the walls of the city, but of other structures •, 
and in that sense we have before interpreted, in a preceding 
note,§ what he says of the square stones of the ruins. The 
same topographer justly remarks the contrary fact, that the 
oldest work now apparent is of brick.\\ The three sides of a 
square from near the Porta Pia to the Porta Querquetulana, a 
shut gate, seem to be the Praetorian ramparts included by Con- 
stantine, and not materially defaced by repairs.** The amphi- 
theatre for the Praetorians is also in the Aurelian circuit, near 
the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme ; and some large 
stones, laid one on another, without cement, contiguous to that 
amphitheatre, are only to be ascribed to the hasty preparations 

* The plan in the last edition of Venuti lays down the Agger Tarquinii 
in the space between the Lateran and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme : re- 
peated search may fail in finding any trace of this Agger. Donatus posi- 
tively says there is none. Lib. i. cap. xiii. 

f Urbis Romse topographia, lib. i. cap. ix. 

X Roma Vetus, lib. i. cap. viii. 

^ See note to Stanza LXXX. 

II " Nam vetus ilia substructio e lateribus est." Ibid. 

** Donatus has observed, that the words of Zosimus will not justify this 
inference, but that the present appearance of this part of the walls will. 
Lib. i. cap. XV. Fabricius, (descriptio urbis Romai, cap. v. and vi.) has 
given a plate, in which the caMi-a prcetoria are put without the walls, to cor- 
respond with the old appearance. 



122 

of Belisarius before the second siege. The strange reticu- 
lated hanging wall, opposite to the gate of the villa Borghese, 
was another ancient structure which made part of the defences 
of the city before the time of that general. All these three 
portions of the circuit are of brick, and the comparative anti- 
quity of other parts is easily ascertained by those accustomed 
to such investigations. Some of the fragments of the next 
date are to be attributed to Honorius,* a considerable restorer, 
or rather rebuilder of the walls. In the interval between his 
reign and thatof Theodoric, repairs had become requisite, and 
were undertaken by that monarch. Belisarius made them ca- 
pable of defence, and, in the subsequent occupation of the 
city, partly rebuilt that third portion which Totila had thrown 
down, and then helped afterwards to repair. Narses was also 
a restorer of the walls; and some work resembling that of the 
" Amphitheatre of the Camps," has been ascribed to his imita- 
tion of that more ancient construction.! 

It appears that the circuit followed by each of these restor- 
ers must have been very nearly, if not exactly, that of Aure- 
lian, or at least Honorius. J No vestiges of foundations which 
could have belonged to those older walls, can be discovered be- 
yond the present circumference ; and the same fact has been 
ably deduced from many concurrent arguments, especially by 
Donatus, who tries to prove that the Popes, who subsequently 
rebuilt and repaired them, also adopted the ancient line, and 
did not at all contract the space occupied by the old imperial 
fortifications. § 

How, then, are we to reconcile the measurement as it is 
stated to have been accurately taken by Ammonius, with the 
present circuit, which, except on the Transtiberine side, 
where it is larger, is evidently nearly the same as it was un- 

* See Claudiati in VI. Cons. Honor, and an inscription over a shut gate 
at the Porta Maggiore. Nardini, ibid. A similar inscription was over the 
Porta Portese, which was thrown down by Urban VIII. See Donatus, 
lib. 1. cap. XV. 

t Nardini, ibid. 

t Nardini thinks they were shrunk backwards a little towards the Am- 
phitheatrum Castrense, when Belisarius repaired them the second time. 
Ibid. 

^ De urbe Roma, lib. i. cap. xviii. xix. xx. 



123 

dcr the Emperors ? There seems no expedient but to reject 
the authority of that mathematician, or rather his reporter 
Olympiodorus, and to beheve that Phny's older measurement 
of thirteen miles, two hundred paces,* was not so much 
dilated by Aurelian as is generally thought ;t and that it in- 
cluded every suburban district which was surrounded with a 
wall, such as the Praetorian camp, and the Transtiberine 
region, and might therefore possibly extend itself to spots 
where no traces of it have been found or sought for. In that 
case the discrepancy between the present and the ancient 
circuit will be much diminished, if not altogether annihilated. 
To this it may be added, that as the works of Narses, and, 
indeed, of the Emperors, were of brick, they might, when 
once decayed, very easily be gradually lost ; and that when 
the Popes commenced their repairs, the diagonal of an 
irregular projection might here and there have been taken, 
instead of the former line, by which means a partial reduc- 
tion, sufficient to account for the above difference, may be 
allowed to have taken place. 

It should seem, that during the troubles of the exarchate, 
the walls had fallen down in many parts, and that the city 
was left naked on some points, particularly towards the gate 
of St. Lorenzo. The terms in which the rebuilding by the 
Popes, in the eighth century, are recorded, would imply 
almost a totally new construction. After Sisinnius and Gre- 
gory the Second and Third had made some progress in this 
useful labour, Hadrian the First convoked the peasants from 
Tuscany and Campania, and, with their help and that of the 
Romans, rebuilt from their foundations, in many places, the 
walls and towers in all their circuit. Such are the strong ex- 

* " Msenia eju«s collegere ambitu Imperatoribus Censoribusque Vespa- 
sianis, anno conditae dcccxxviii- passuum xui. m.cc. complexa monies 
septem" This is the celebrated passage which has puzzled Lipsius and 
the commentators and topographers. 

t Nardini, ibid- has shown nhere the additional ground was taken in 
by Aurelian ; and Donatus was almost inclined to think, that that Em- 
peror had not enlarged the circuit. Cassiodorus and Eusebius do not 
talk of the walls being increased, but fortified. Vopiscus, by mentioning 
fifty milos, has taken away all credit from himself or from his text. 
Donat. lib. i cap. xix. 

16 



^ 124 

pressions of the papal biographer.* Leo IV. in 847, in- 
cluded the Borgo, that is, the Basilica of St. Peter's, and 
the contiguous quarter of the Vatican : and from his reign 
until that of Urban VIII. nineteen Pontiffs have been specifi- 
ed as contributing to the repairs. It is not at all surprising, 
therefore, that an early topographer should have declared, 
that the walls were indubitably not ancient.! The antiqua- 
ries profess to see a hundred different constructions in their 
mixed composition. Urban VIII. completed them as we now 
see them, by running his rampart along the acclivity of the 
Janiculum, from the Aurelian gate (Saint Pancrazio) to the 
angle of the Vatican, commonly called the Porta de^ cavalli 
leggierLX He entirely rebuilt them from the same Aurelian 
gate to the Porta Portese, on the banks of the Tiber. Since 
that period other Pontiffs have been active in repairs, but no 
change has taken place in the circuit ; concerning which we 
may finally conclude, that it is equal, very nearly, if not 
quite, to the largest circumference of the ancient city, and, 
except on the Transtiberine side, gei^eraUy follows the line 
of Aurelian. It is equally clear, that the exact ancient line 
could not always be followed. We see this from the bastion 

* " Veriim etlam et muros atque turres hujus Rotnanse urbis quae 
dirulfe erant et usque ad fundamenta destructse renovarit atque utiliter 
omnia in circuitu restauravit" Anast. de Vit. Rom. Pontif. Script. Rer. 
Italic torn. iii. p. 188. 

" Ipse vero deo, ut dicitur, protectus Praesul conspiciens muros hujus 
irivitatis Roraanae perolitana tempora in ruinis posiios, et per loca plures 
turres usque ad terram eversas, per suum solertissimum studium totas 
civitati's tarn Tusciffi, quamque Campanise congregans una cum populo 
Romano, ejusque suburbanis, nee non et toto ecclesiastico patrimonio 
omnibus prsedicans, et dividens ex sumptibus dapibusque Apostolicis 
totam urbem in circuitu restaurans universa renovavit, atque decoravit." 
Ibid, p 194. 

Anastasius Jlourished under Hadrian II. and John VIII. He writes 
only to Nicholas I. The remainder of the lives were written by William, 
another librarian, under the name of Damasus. See — Bianchini's pro- 
legomena to the liber pontificalis. Both one and the other were compi- 
lers, not composers, of the lives. The edition in Muratori and that of 
Bianchini, have been used. 

f " Ma?nia urbis nunc extantia non esse antiqua sicut nuUi est dubium 
ita multis argumentis apparet'' Marlian. Urb. Rom. Topog. lib. i. cap. ix. 
t Donatus, lib. i. cap. xx- 



125 

of Paul III. at the foot of the Aventinc, which, if it had 
been finished, would have probably been considered as upon 
that ancient line. 

If from the walls themselves we retire into the interior of 
their vast circuit, we shall be still more confounded, and 
" stumble o'er recollections." The names given to the monu- 
ments perpetually vary, according to the fancy of some pre- 
dominant antiquary. At one period all vaulted ruins belong 
to baths, at another they are portions of temples ; Basilicas 
are at times the favourite denomination. The consequence 
of this varying nomenclature is the embarrassment of those 
who put themselves under the guidance of the best ancient 
or modern topographers ; and we are often apt to reduce the 
monuments of all the regions to the character given by Nar- 
dini to those of the Aventine, which he divides into " sites 
not altogether uncertain, and sites evidently uncertain."* 

The antiquarian disputes began at an early period ; and 
where nothing but a name was left, there was still some plea- 
sure found in the struggles of conjecture. The mica aurea 
has not been seen since the ninth century ; but it afforded an 
opportunity of quoting Plutarch, Ammian, and Martial, to 
show, that it might have been a Greek girl, or a Bear, or a 
Supper-house.^ The actual remains were soon found to be no 
less uncertain. The two vaults of the church of St. Maria 
Nuova were believed, by Pomponius L^tus, the fragments of 
a temple of ^sculapius and Health ; by Marlianus, of the Sun 
and Moon ; by Blondus, of YEsculapius and Apollo ; by Pog- 
gio, of Castor and Pollux.J They are now called the Temple 
of Venus and Rome, according to the opinion to which 

*" Situs non omniiio inccrti et situs plane incerti" Lib- viil. cap. vi. 
The choice of Remus is peculiarly deserted. Victor alone has left any 
account of it. In all the twelfth region, between the Circus Maximus and 
the Baths of Caracalla, the latter was the only monument recognisable 
by the eyes of the above topographer- 

t Nardini, lib. iii. cap viii. 

I Fabricii Descrip. Urb. Rom. cap. ix. ap. Gnsv. Ant. tom. iii. At- 
tached to it is the church now called S. Francesca Romana ; and if the 
stranger goes for information to the modern inscription, he will find these 
words : " In qutsit pietrt pose le ginochta S- Pietro q%iando i devwnj par- 
larono Simone Mago per aria." 



126 

Nardini seemed to incline.* See also the many names given 
to the temple of Santa Maria Egizziaca.t Some thought it a 
chapel of Patrician Modesty, some a Basilica of Caius and 
Lucius, some a temple of Good Fortune, others of Manly 
Fortune. It is now come hack to Modesty.J The temple 
attributed to Vesta, on the banks of the Tiber, was once 
thought that of Hercules Victor, and also of the Sun. Pom- 
ponius LaBtus§ called it that of Juno Matuta, others named 
the goddess Volupia.|| Hercules was recovering his rights 
during the winter of 1817. The Patrician Modesty is trans- 
ferred, by an inscription, to the church of Santa Maria in 
Ccsmedin, commonly called the Schola Grceca ; and the same 
inscription asserts, that Saint Augustine taught rhetoric in 
this school.** 

Other examples of uncertainty will occur in the subsequent 
notices of individual monuments. It would be hazardous to 
give a list of those which can suggest no reasonable doubts. 
The Coliseum, the three Triumphal Arches, those of Drusus, 
of Dolabella and Silanus, of GalUenus ; the Baths of Diocle- 
tian, of Caracalla, of Constantine, a part of those of Titus ; 
the Theatre of Marcellus, the iew remains of that of Pom- 
pey ; the two bridges of the Tiberine island ; the mauso- 
leums of Augustus and Hadrian ; the two historical columns ; 
the tomb of Cestius, the tomb of Bibulus, the tomb of the 
Scipios ; the Pantheon ; the column of Phocas ; the Septi- 
mian arch in the Velabrum ; the inscribed obelisks ; the cas- 
tellum of the Claudian aqueduct ; two or three of the city 
gates ; the arcades of the Gloaca ; the ^lian bridge ; these 
seem the most secure from scepticism ; and it would be difli- 

* Nardini, lib. iii. cap. 2. 

t Donatus, lib. ii. cap. 18. Nardini, lib. vii. cap. iv. 

I In the time of Fulvius, this tract about the Patrician Modesty was 
solely inhabited by prostitutes. Nardini, lib. vii- cap. iv. 

5j Donatus, lib. ii, cap. xxv. 

II >' Alii Herculis, alii Vestce, alii dcJB Volupise." Montfaucon, Diarluiii 
Italicum, p. 188. 

** No trust is to be put in modern inscriptions, and sometimes not in 
those which have every appearance of antiquity. Doubts have been en- 
tertained even about the inscription on the tomb of Bibulus, by Augusti- 
nus, in his dialogue on ancient coins. 



127 

cult to name another monument within the walls of an equally 
certain character. 

Stanza LXXXII. 

for never shall we see 

That brightness in her eye she bore when Rome was free. 

It was one of the complaints of Poggio* that he saw almost 
nothing entire, and but very few remains of the free city ; and 
indeed the principal disappointment at Rome arises from find- 
ing such insignificant vestiges of the first ages and of the re- 
public. Something, perhaps, might be added to the lists of 
them given by Mr. Forsyth : but not much. We have seen 
how soon those works disappeared ; but we might still have 
expected to find something more than a sewer, a prison, a row 
of vaults, a foundation wall, a pavement, a sepulchre, a half- 
buried fragment of a theatre and circus. The artist may 
be comparatively indifferent to the date and history, and re- 
gard chiefly the architectural merit of a structure : but the 
Rome which the republican Florentine regretted, and which an 
Englishman must wish to find, is not that of Augustus and his 
successors, but of those greater and better men, of whose 
heroic actions his earliest impressions are composed. 

We have heard too much of the turbulence of the Roman 
democracy and of the Augustan virtues. No civil tranquillity 
can compensate for that perpetual submission, not to laws but 
persons, which must be required from the subjects of the most 
limited monarchy. The citizens of the worst regulated re- 
public must feel a pride and may indulge a hope superior to 
all the blessings of domestic peace, and of what is called es- 
tablished order, another word for durable servitude. The 
struggles for supreme though temporary power amongst those 
of an equal condition, give birth to all the nobler energies of 
the mind, and find space for their unbounded exertion. Un- 
der a monarchy, however well attempered, the chief motive 

* *' Nam ex publicis aut privatis oporibus liherae quondam civitatis in- 
lerriipta quaedam et ea parva vestigia visuntur.' De Varietal^, Sec. loc. 
clt. 



128 

for action must be altogether wanting, or feebly felt, or cau- 
tiously encouraged. Duties purely ministerial, honours de- 
rived from an individual, may be meritoriously performed, 
may be gracefully worn : but, as an object of ambition, they 
are infinitely below the independent control of our fellow- 
citizens, and perhaps scarcely furnish a compensation for en- 
tire repose. The natural love of distinction on any terms 
may push us into pubhc life ; but it palsies our efforts, it mor- 
tifies our success, perpetually to feel that in such a career, 
although a failure is disgraceful, a victory is inglorious ; 

" Vincere inglorium — atteri sordidum.''^ 
These are the sentiments of Agricola and the words of Taci- 
tus, and bespeak the real value of the subordinate dignity, 
which is all that can be attained under a Domitian or under a 
Trajan, under the worst or under the best of princes. 

As those glorious institutions which subdued and civilized 
the world have long seemed incompatible with the altered 
condition of mankind, we recur with the greater eagerness to 
every memorial of their former existence : and hence our re- 
gret at finding so little of the early city. The courtly and 
melodious muses that graced the first age of the monarchy 
have, indeed, affixed an imperishable interest to every site 
and object connected with their patrons or their poetry : and 
in default of republican relics we are content with looking on 
the floorings of the Esquiline palace and at the fabric dedicat- 
ed to him who has found a more durable monument in the 
verses of Virgil. The house of Maecenas and the theatre of 
Marcellus can boast no other attraction. 

It is not to be denied but that by good fortune the most vir* 
tuous of the Roman Sovereigns have left the most conspi- 
cuous monuments, and that we are thus perpetually recalled to 
an age in which mankind are supposed to have been more 
happy and content than during any other period of history. 
We may look at the Coliseum, the temples of Vespasian and 
Antoninus, the arch of Titus and the historical columns, with- 
out cursing the usurpation of Augustus. 

But it is not to worship at the shrine of the Flavian princes 
nor to do homage to the forbearance of Trajan, (the word is 



129 

not used at random,*) or to the philosophy of AureHus, that 
we undertake the pilgrimage of Rome. The men whose 
traces we would wish to discover were cast in another mould, 
and belonged to that order of beings whose superior qualities 
were bj the wisest of their immediate successors! as well as by 
the slaves of the last emperors,J acknowledged to have expir- 
ed with the repubhc. It is with the builders, and not the di- 
lapidators of the Roman race that we would hope to meet in 
the Capitol. Our youthful pursuits inspire us with no respect 
or affection for this nation independent of their republican 
virtues. It is to refresh our recollection of those virtues that 
we explore the ruins of the city which gave them birth ; and 
absorbed by an early devotion for the patriots of Rome, we 
are indifferent to the records of her princes. We feel no 
sympathy with the survivors of Philippi. We would prefer a 
single fragment of the Palatine house of Hortensius or of 
Cicero to all the lofty ruins which fringe the imperial hill. 

As it is, we must visit a sepulchre or a museum ; must 
trust to one amongst a range of doubtful busts ; must unravel 
an inscription, and extricate ourselves from antiquarian doubts 
before we are recalled to the city of the Scipios, whilst every 
thing around us attests the might and the magnificence of the 
Ceesars. 

* Nw Si 'tov tf ocvov 6(axdpco$ trCws, xat, xat vri^uv ^v, tv t'e t'otj rtaiSt- 
xotj ovSeVo ixvfirjatv. Dion. Hist. Rom. lib. 68. torn. ii. p. 1125. edit. 
Hamb. 1750. It may be recollected why Julian excluded Trajan from 
the banquet of the Caesars. 

f " Postquam bellatum apud Actium, atque omnem potentiam ad unum 
conferri pacis interfuit ; magna ilia ingenia cessere." Tacit. Hist. lib. i. 
cap. i. 

{ " Postquam jura ferox in se communia Caesar 
Ttanstulit ; et lapsi mores ; desuetaque priscis 
Artibus, in gremium pacis servile recessi." 

Claud, de bello. Gildonico. 



130 
Stanza CIII. 

Metella died, 

The wealthiest Roman's tvife ; Behold his love or pride ! 

Four words and two initials compose the whole of the in- 
scription, which, whatever was its ancient position, is now 
placed in front of this towering sepulchre : 

C^CILIAE . q. CRETICl. F. METKLLAE. CRASSI. 

It is more hkely to have been the pride than the love of 
Crassus which raised so superb a memorial to a wife whose 
name is not mentioned in history, unless she be supposed to 
be that lady whose intimacy with Dolabella was so otfensive 
to Tulha the daughter of Cicero, or she who was divorced by 
Lentulus Spinther, or she, perhaps the same person, from 
whose ear the son of iEsopus transferred a precious jewel to 
enrich his draught.* 

When Mr. Bayle wanted to find another Roman matron of 
the same name with whom to divide the redundant vices of 
two or three other Cecilia Metellas, he seems to have known 
nothing of this wife of Crassus and daughter of the Cretic 
Metellus, whom, otherwise, he might have suspected of being 
the counterpart of his Madame D'Olonne.t 

The common people have been more attentive to the orna- 
ments of the sculptor than to the memory of the matron, for 
the metopes of the frieze, or a single ox's head with the Gae- 
tani arms, gave to this tower during the middle ages the name 
of Capo di Bove.J There appears to have been another 

* " Filius ^sopi detractam ex aure Metellae 
(Scilicet ut decies solidum exsorberet) aceto 
Diluit insignem baccam. 

Hor. Sat. Lib. ii. Sat- iii. ver. 259. 
4 DLctionnaire, article '* Metella." 

t Nardini, lib. iii. cap. iii. appears to say it is called Capo di Bove from 
a sinj^Ie ox's head sculptured over the door with the arms of the Gaetani 
which Echinard. (Agro Romano, fee- p. 295,) also notices, but which the 
■writer does not recollect to have spcn- 



131 

place of the same name near Ostia in the year 953, un^ 
less this tomb should be supposed to be the place al- 
luded to in an old charter of that date.* It was, indeed, 
an old Roman name ; for Suetonius mentions that Au- 
gustus was born at a spot in the Palatinate called ad capita 
bubula.] 

At what period the tomb of Metella was converted into the 
citadel of a fort can be guessed only by the period at which 
the monuments in the city were occupied by the nobles. 
Certain it is that the tomb was put at once to this purpose 
without any previous spoliation, and that the garrison uncon- 
cernedly dwelt over not only the mausoleum but the very ashes 
of Metella, for the coffin remained in the interior of the se- 
pulchre to the time of Paul III. who removed it to the court 
of the Farnese palace. | The Savelli family were in posses- 
sion of the fortress in 1312, and the German army of Henry 
VII. marched from Rome,§ attacked, took, and burnt it, but 
were unable to make themselves by force masters of the cita- 
del, that is, of the tomb, ^^ hich must give us a high notion of 
its strength or of their weakness. The soldiers of the tomb 
surrendered their post upon terms, and Henry transferred the 
whole property to a brother of John Savelli who had married 
one of the Colonna, and who was to keep it until a sum of 
20,000 marks due to the emperor hud been discharged by the 
dispossessed baron. The Gaetani family became masters of 
the place afterwards : they raised the walls which are still 
seen contiguous to the tomb, and were part of their mansion 
and adjoining offices. To their labours is ascribed the super- 
structure, part of which still remains on the top of the monu- 
ment. 

* Dissertazione sulla rovine, &c. p. SSI. note b. 

f In vita August, cap. v. 

I Echinard. agro Romano, ibid, in loc citat. not. 

^ " Unde moti Roraani cum Theotonicis ad unum castnim, quod voca- 
tur caput Bovis prope urbem ad duo milliaria, quod castrum crat Domini 
Johannis de Sabello, cucurrerunt, et castrum, excepta arce, violenter ac- 
ceperunt, et partem combusserunt," fee. &.c. Iter Italicum. Kcnrrci VH. 
Imper. Script. Rer. Ital. torn, ix, p. 9l8. 

17 



132 

Poo-o-io* saw the tomb entire when he first came to Rome, 
but during his absence the Romans had ground this nohh loork, 
for the most part, to lime. This demohtion, however, must 
be understood only of the square basement on which, like the 
mausoleum of Hadrian, the round tower was raised. Nor 
was it complete even of the basement, which was not reduced 
to its present condition until the time of Urban VIII., who, we 
have seen, cut away some of the travertine blocks for the 
construction of the fountain of Trevi.j The destroyer of 
the adjoining fortress was Sixtus Quintus, the Hercules of 
modern Rome, who dislodged every Cacus and cleared the 
Pontifical states of their dens. 

Tiie tomb has, indeed, been much disfigured, and the lower 
part of it retains only a few jutting blocks of its former 
structure ; but it is still amongst the most conspicuous of the 
Roman ruins, and Mr. Gibbon must have been strangely for- 
getful of what he had seen when he wrote " The Sepulchre of 
Mdella has sunk wider its outroorks.^^X On the contrary, it is 
the sepulchi-e which remains and the outworks which have 

* " Juxtn Viam Appiam ad secundum lapidem integrum vidi sepul- 
chrum Q. Ccecitiaj Metellje, opus egregium, et id tot seculis jntactum, ad 
calcein postea majore ex parte exterminatum," De Fortunaj Varietate, 
p. 508. loc. cit 

{ See note on Stanza Ixxx. 

X Decline and Fall, cap. Ixxi- p. 415, torn, xii- To this he has the fol- 
lowing note : " I must copy an important passage of Montfaucon : Tur- 
ns ingens rotunda Csecilia; Metellse sepulchrum erat, cujus 

muri tarn solidi ut spatium perquam minimum intus vacuum supersit ; et 
Torre di bove dicitur, a bourn capitibus muro inscriptis. Huic, sequiori 
levo, tempore intestinorum bellorum, ceu urbecula adjuncta fuit, cujus 
mcenia et turres etiamnum visuntur ; ita ut sepulchrum 3Ietellce quasi arx 
oppiduli fuerit. Ferventibus in url)e partibus, cum Ursini atque Colum- 
nenses mutuis cladibus perniciem inferrent civitati, in utriusve partis diti- 
onem cederet magni moment! erat." This passage, which the reader will 
And in the Diarium Italieum, p. 156, surely need not have been ushered 
in with such solemnity, as if it related a fact to be collected no where else 
than in Montfaucon, or as if the occupation of Roman monuments by 
the factions was to be seen only at this tomb. Nothing remarkable is 
told by Montfaucon except the fact contradicted by the passage to which 
this note is appended, namel)'^, that ihere ivas a grectt tower which had been 
tlie sepulchre of Metella, consequently that the said sepulchre bad not 
*• sunk under its outworks." 



133 

sunk. The feeble labours of puny modern nerves are fast 
crumbling round the massive fabric which seems to promise an 
existence as long as the period of its former duration. 

It must seem singular that so little should be known of the 
two persons whose tombs were to survive those of so many 
illustrious names. Cestius is as little famous as Metella, and 
his pyramid is no less conspicuous than her tower. Oblivion, 
however, has been kind perhaps to one who has left no other 
present to posterity than this ambitious sepulchre ; if, as there 
is some reason to suspect, this Cestius, Tribune of the peo- 
ple, Praetor, and a Septimvir, is the same Cestius, a Praetor, 
and flatterer of the Augustan court, who was publicly 
scourged by the order of Marcus Cicero, the son, for presum- 
ing to defame his father in his presence.* 

A learned person who wrote a dissertation on this pyramid 
and disproved the mistake of Panvinius in supposing Cestius 
to be the consul of that name mentioned in the annals of Ta- 
citus,! asserts that there is a total silence with respect to 
him in all ancient authors, but that he must have died at least 
as early as the middle of the reign of Augustus. | The Ces- 
tius above mentioned did not suggest himself to the antiquary, 
and perhaps may be the man we want. 

Stanza CVII. 

For all thai Learning reap'd 
From her research hath been, that these are ivalls — 
Behold the Imperial Mount '. 'tis thus the mighty falls. 

The troops of Genserick occupied the Palatine and de- 
spoiled it of all its riches. § The ruin of the structures them- 
selves is involved in the most impenetrable obscurity : nor 
have the immense masses which remain, assisted, though they 
stimulated, research. Theodoric found their beauty admira- 

* M. Seneca. Suasor. 6. 

f Lib. vi. cap. 31. 

\ " Altissimum enira de illo apud scriptores veteres silentium est." 
Octavii Falconerii, de pyramide C. Cestii Epulonis. dissertatio ap. Gr»v. 
Antiq. Roman, torn. iv. p. 1475. 

5^ Sidon. ApoUon. See — note to Stanza \xx\. 



1^4 

ble,* but impaired bjr age. From that moment the palace of 
the Cassars disappears, and the labours of the antiquary have 
been unable to produce more than a single word to show that 
it was not ruined by Totila, which is the general persuasion. 

Anastasius, in the life of Pope Constantine, who was elected 
in 708, narrating a civil commotion which took place in Rome 
against the emperor Philip, has these words : " And it came 
to pass that whilst Christopher, who was duke, was con- 
tending on this account with Agatho and his followers, a civil 
war arose, so that they came to arms in the sacred way before 
Ihe palace.''^ What a fate ! The palace may have been a 
fragment, or, as it now is, a word. 

When the Palatine again rises, it rises in ruins. A corner 
of the structures had served to lodge the Frangipane family. 
The Turris Cartularia included a portion of the Palatine 
mansions and the arch of Titus. | It was thrown down in 
1240 by Gregory IX., was rebuilt, and shortly after destroyed 
by the people. 

The pilgrim of the thirteenth century who talks of the im- 
perial palace must be alluding to sites, not buildings. In the be- 
ginning of the fifteenth century there was not a single edifice 
standing on the whole mount except the church of St. Nicho- 
las, built by Pope Calixtus,§ which was itself in ruins. 

The Farnese family were ambitious of a summer house in 
the imperial precincts. They levelled, they built, and they 
planted ; Michael Angelo designed, Rafiael painted, and the 

*" Quando pulchritudo ilia mirabilis, si subinde non reficitur, senectute 
obreppiito. \itiatur." Cassiod. Variar. lib. vii. epist. v. 

f " Et factum est diim Christophoius, qui erat Dux, obhanc causani 
cum Agatiione et suis hominibus conctrtarent, bellum civile oxhortum est, 
ila ut irj via sacra ante palatium sese coinmitterent," &c. De Vitis Roman. 
Tonfir. ap. Script. Her. Ital. torn. iii. p. 153. 

X It was one of the strong bouses of the Frangipane to which Pope 
Innocent II. retreated in 1138 in his struggles with the anli-pope Anaclete 
JI. See— Onuph. Panvinius de gente Fregepanica- ap. Marangoni. Delle 
memorie sacre e ])r(>rane dell' Anfileatro Flavio. Roma, 1746. p- 31, D2. 
fdit. 1740. Alexiinder HI. also retired thither in 1167. 

^ " JMuIto autem pauciora habet integra Palatinus mons quam Capito- 
IJnus aut Aventinus, nam prteter S. Nicolai ecdrsiam a Calixto Papa 
sedilicatam, quai et male integr^ cernitur nullum is ce.leberrimus mens 
habct a;diflcium." Flar. Blond- Roma. Inst. lib. i. fo. 11. 



135 

masterpieces of ancient culspture, statues, reliefs, and colour- 
ed marbles, were drawn from beneath the ruins of Caracalla'g 
baths and of the Flavian ampliitheatre for the embellishment 
of the rising villa. Following antiquaries, from Donatus* to 
Venuti,t were pleased to remark that these peopled gardens 
had succeeded to the solitude of the long neglected hill. 
The extinction or aggrandizement of the Farnese dukes strip- 
ped this retreat as well as the palace of the family of all its 
treasures. J Naples was again fated to be enriched by the 
plunder of Rome. The Palatine villa was abandoned, and 
in less than half a century§ has fallen to the ground. The 
naked fountain and twisted steps of Michael Angelo, and the 
cockle-shell incrusted walls, form a singular contrast with the 
lofty arcades on the Caesarean side. 

The Palatine was never entirely covered with structures ; 
space must be left for gardens, for a manege, and for a hip- 
podrome. j| Antiquaries, to prove the latter, have been 
obliged to have recourse to the acts of the martyrs, but there 
are evident signs of the Course in one of the gardens. There 
are abundant materials for dispute in the masses of the pa- 
lace, which cased the whole hill in brick work, and of the 
many temples which lodged the gods that watched over the 
Emperor.** A view of the Palatine ruins, in Paul V.'s time,tt 
marks a temple of Orcus, a temple of Cybele, a temple of 
Heliogabalus, to all which other names have succeeded with 
equal authority. The precise details of Bianchini,|| who 

* " Nunc taiJta molis vel suis obruta ruinis est ; vel parietihus ac porll- 
cibus informis vel transiit in amaenitatem Farnesiorum hortorum." Do- 
nat. lib. iii. cap. ii. 

t Roma moderna, &tc. Rione xii torn. ii. p. S96. 

I The great Campo Fiore palace is much neglected ; it requires a 
priiicelj' court to occupy it, and the Neapolitan ambassador is lost in ont- 
of the suites of one of the stories of 077e of the sides of the vast square. 

^ Venuti, (ibid,) seems to have seen it entire. 

[] St. Sebastian was shot with arrows, as we see in so many fine pic- 
ture?, in the hippodrome of the palace. 

** See quotation from Claud, in vi. Cons. Honor, in note to Stanza 
Jxxx. Nardini, lib. vi. cap. xiii. and xiv. reckons nineteen at least. 

ft Vedute degli antichi vestigj, Uc See note to Stanza Ixxx. 

U Palazzo de' Cesari. 



136 

dissected the soil and assigned to all the ruins above and be- 
low their distinct character and function, have retained few 
believers even amongst the Romans. A subterranean cell, 
in the vineyard of the Farnese gardens, still preserves the 
name of the Baths of Livia, for some reason not apparent in 
the construction or site. The King of Naples has kindly not 
stripped off all the arabesques, but left a portion to show how 
the whole apartments were once adorned. These paintings 
do not suffer so much from the oozing of the saltpetre as when 
exposed to the external air, as they have found in the open 
chambers of the Baths of Titus. The gilding preserves its 
freshness, and the outlines their edge, and seem liable to no 
injury but from the torches of the guides. 

Several blocks of sculptured marble above the ruins of the 
summer house, are honoured with the name of the Palatine 
Apollo. Of this temple, an early topographer thought he saw 
some vestiges overlooking the Circus Maximus on the other 
side of the hill. 

A contiguous portion of the Palatine is occupied by the 
kitchen gardens and vineyards of the Casino Spada, or Mag- 
nani, which the pretended frescoes of Raphael have not pre- 
served from ruin. Half a century ago a tower looking over 
the site of the Circus Maximus, and which made part of the 
Ca3sarean palace, was restored. But the curse of Jerusalem 
hangs over this hill — it is again in ruins. In this quarter is 
shown a suite of subterranean chambers, usually denominated 
the Baths of Nero ; for this Emperor being a great builder, 
is generally called in to father all unknown remains. An 
Englishman excavated these chambers in 1777, and the 
ground of the villa is now at the disposal of any one who 
chooses to pay a very moderate sum for so imperial a pur- 
chase, and the pleasure of experiments. 

The Palatine, it has been remarked, has, no less than the 
valleys, been encumbered with accumulated soil. These 
chambers were surely above ground. No descent to them 
Avas discovered, but has been since constructed. 

The next garden and vineyard, for so the Palatine is now 
divided, is in possession of the Irish college, and some rustic 
or playful antiquaries had, in 1817. chalked upon the gate- 



137 

way, " The Hippodrome, the Temple of Apollo, the house of 
the Vestals.'''' The shape of the vineyard does not resemble 
a place for equestrian exercises. Apollo and the Vestals may 
be lodged at will in any of the towering vaults or under- 
ground crypts of these enormous masses. 

You may explore for hours either above or below, through 
the arched corridores, or on the platforms whose stuccoed 
floorings have resisted a thousand winters, and serve as a 
roof to the ruins beneath. From the corner of this platform 
there is one of the most impressive views of the Coliseum 
and the remains of the old city, both within and without the 
walls. The long lines of aqueducts stretched across the bare 
campagna, are the arms of the fallen giant. The look of 
these great structures, built for some purpose which the 
shrunk condition of the modern city did not render apparent, 
made a Roman of the fifteenth century call them insane,'^ 
Your walks in tlie Palatine ruins, if it be one of the many 
days when the labourers do not work, will be undisturbed, 
unless you startle a fox in breaking through th^ brambles in 
the corridores, or burst unawares through the hole of some 
shivered fragments into one of the half buried chambers 
which the peasants have blocked up to serve as stalls for their 
jackasses, or as huts for those who watch the gardens. The 
smoke of their wood fires has not hidden the stuccoes and 
deeply indented mouldings of the imperial roofs. The soil 
accumulated in this quart*. • has formed a slope on the side of 
the ruins, and some steps have been adjusted into the bank. 
Half way up an open oratory has been niched into a wall. 

Rehgion is still triumphant after the fall of the palace of 
the CaBsars, the towers of feudal lords, and the villas of pa- 
pal princes. The church and contiguous monastery of St. 
Bonaventura, preserve a spark of life upon the site of the 
town of Romulus. The only lane which crosses the Pala- 
tine, leads to this church between dead. walls, where the sta- 
tions of the via crucis divert the attention from the fall of the 
Caesars, to the sublimer and more humihating sufferings of 
God himself. The tall fragments of the imperial ruins rising 

* " Celsos fornices et insana acquseductorum opera perlustrans," F. 
Blond. Roma. Inst. lib. iii. fo. 3. if he did not mean broken. 



138 

from a hill, which seems one wide field of crossed and trel- 
lised reeds hang round with vines, form the most striking por- 
tion of the prospect of the old town, seen from the platform 
of St. Pietro in Montorio, or the other eminences beyond 
the Tiber. They are so thickly strewn, and so massive, that 
it is not surprising the inhabitants of the rising town chose 
rather to seek for other sites, than to attempt to clear them 
away. But they are not without their use, for the flagging 
vapours of the malaria are supposed to settle round their 
summits, as well as those of the Coliseum, and thus to spare 
the modern city. 

Where all repair has been hopeless, the descendants of 
those who reared these mighty fabrics have converted the de- 
solation of the ancient city to the purposes of other havoc. 
They scrape the old walls of the Palatine, as well as those 
of the Baths of Titus, for saltpetre, of which a manufacture 
has been established in both those positions ; and thus, if the 
phrase may be used, ruin begets ruin, destruction propagates 
destruction. 

Stanza CX. 
and apostolic statues dwih 



To crush the imperial urn, whose ashes lay suhlime, S^e. 

Sixtus Quintus raised the statue of St. Peter on the sum- 
mit of the column of Trajan. A liberty has, in the above 
verses, been taken with the probable position of the urn of 
Trajan, in compliance with a tradition, that the ashes of that 
emperor were in the head of a spear, which the colossal statue 
raised on the pillar, held in his hand.* But the remains of 
Trajan were buried in a golden urn under the column,! and 

* A medal of Vespasian has been found vr'ith a column surmounted by 
an urn. See — Joseph. Castalionls, de colum. triump. comment, ap. Grsev. 
Antlq- Rom. tom. iv. p- 1947. 

t Ta 8i tov Tpaiavov osid iv t^ xiovt dvtov xatcti^rj. Dion. Hist. 
Rom. lib. 69. tom. ii. p. 1 150. edit. Hamb. 1750. " Sunt qui in pila, quam 
tenebat Colossus, cineres conditos dicunt : quo fundamento adhuc re- 
quiro." See Comment, to lib- Ixviii. tom. ii. p. 1133, of the Xylandro- 
Leunclavian version. 

•' Ossa in urna aurea collocata sub Columna Fori quse ejua nomine 



139 

continued in that depository in the time of Theodoric. The 
Value of the urn was sure to be fatal to the deposite ; but we 
know nothing of the time when poverty and rapine had lost 
all respect for the remains of the best of the Roman princes. 
An absurd story, which Was current in the English churches 
in the ninth century, would make us suppose that the Chris- 
tians condescended to except Trajan from the usual con- 
demnation of pagans, and that Gregory the Great, in passing 
through the Forum, was moved to compassion for the emperor 
in purgatory, and prayed for and liberated his soul.* The 
diminished charity of future zeal induced Bellarmine and the 
graver writers to reject this narration as a putid fable, and, 
for the best of reasons, since St. Gregory himself, in the 
fourth book of his Dialogues, (cap. 44.) has declared, " that 
we should not pray for the devil and his angels reserved for 
eternal punishment, nor for infidels, nor the impious de- 
funct."! The report, however, of Gregory's biographers 
must make us think that the ashes had not yet been removed 
from the column, for if they had, it might have been forgot- 
ten, as at present, that this monument was ever a place of 
sepulture. 

vocitatur, recondita sunt, cujus columnae altitude in 140 pedes erigitur." 
Cassiod. in Chronic, p. 388. torn. i. fo. 1679. Cassiodorus must be 
reckoned good autliority for what he tells of the Rome which he saw, 
although his chronicle from the beginning of the world to the year 519, 
must be expected to be rather Inaccurate. For a character of tliis writer, 
and for the question whether there were not two Cassiodoruses, father 
and son, to rt'hom the actions of the one should be attributed, see — ■ 
Tiraboschi Storia della Lett. Ital. torn, iii lib. i. cap. i. 

* Tha story is told by Paul the Deacon, and by John the Deacon ; the 
latter says he heard it in some English churches. See note to Stanza 
Ixxx- 

f " Docet orandum non esse pro diabolo, angelisque ejus seterno sup- 
plicio deputatis, neque pro infidelibus hominibus impiisque defunctis." 
See — Dissertat. v. de Roman's Tmperatorib. ap. lo. Laurent. Berti. Histor. 
Ecclesi. &.C. torn. ii. p. 72. Bassani. 1769. 

Tiraboschi laughs at John of Salisbury for telling the story of Trajan's 
liberation from hell by Gregory ; but he praises John the Deacon, who 
had not mentioned the burning of the Palatine library by the Pontiff, 
forgetting that John had told the story about Trajan. Storia della l«tt. 
Ital. torn. iii. lib. ii. p. 106 and 111. 

18 



140 

llic Romans Iiaviug performed one great work, chose to 
commemorate it by another. The stranger, at the first sight 
of the column, naturally expects to find that the inscription 
will refer to the virtues, or at least the victories, of the 
prince whose exploits are sculptured upon it, but he reada 
only that the pillar was raised to show how much of the hill, 
and to what height, had, with infinite labour, been cleared 
away.* The historian Dion shows he can never have read this 
simple inscription, when he says that the column was raised 
by Trajan, ^^ parthj for a sepulchre, as well as for an evi- 
dence of the labour with which the Forum was made.t" 
The first object does not appear to have been entertained by 
Trajan or the senate. No emperor had been buried within 
the city, and it was Hadrian who transferred his predecessor's 
bones to this unusual and conspicuous position. 

The Forum of Trajan served, amongst other purposes, to 
perpetuate the memory of the goo/i and great, or of such as, 
in those declining ages, could pretend to that distinction. 
But, lest there should be any want of subjects, young men of 
great promise, who had died in the flower of their age, 
were honoured with a statue. J We know that Marcus 
Aurclius erected statues in this Forum to all those who fell in 
the German war, and that Alexander Severus transferred 
thither those of other celebrated personages from other sites : 
amongst them was one of Augustus, ex electro, and another 
of Nicomedes, in ivory.§ The same place was devoted to 
the labours and the rewards of literary heroes : here the 
poets and others recited their compositions, perhaps in the 
Ulpian library, whose treasures were transferred by Diocletian 
to his own Thermae ; and here their images were allowed a 
place amongst conquerors and monarchs. The prefect Aure- 

* Senatus, Populusque Romanus 

Imp. Caes. Divi. Nervae. F. Trajano. Aug. Germa 

nico. Dacico. Pont. Max. Trib. Pot. XII. Cos. XI. P. P. 

Ad. Declarandum. Quantse. Altitudinis. 

Mous. Et. Locus. Tan- \tis. operi or 7-uderi] bus. Sit. Egestus. 

* "Afia i-isv ti ■ta^'^v iavt^ ayita Si ftj trttSftlir tov xataTfTiv dyopw epydv, 
X. t. X. Hist. Rom. lib. 68. p. 113S. torn. ii. 

X Plin. lib- ii. epist. vii. 

^ Euseb. in Chronic. Laniprid. in vit Sever. Nardini, lib. v. cap. ix. 



14 1 

Hus Symmachus, whom his cotemporaries thought superior to 
Tully,* Claudian, and Aurelius Victor, were, we may sus- 
pect, the most worthy ornaments of the Forum. But the 
honours of the statue were conferred on inferior personages : 
Sidonius Apollinaris,t Marius Victorinus, the schoolmaster, 
Proaeresius, the king of eloquence, we know were there, J 
and these may have heen associated with the meaner names of 
Minervius, Sedatus, and Palladius, with jEHus Donatus, with 
Nonius Marcellus of Tivoh, Sextus Pompeius Fcstus, Ser- 
vius the commentator, Praetextatus the friend of Macrobius, 
and that more valuable writer himself. There also may have 
been seen, Eutropius, the lost historians Flavins Dexter, and 
Nicomachus Flavianus,§ the almost unknown Optatian, and 
Perphinius. Even in the Gothic reigns, the custom of raising 
statues, at least to princes, appears to have prevailed. Men- 
tion is made by Procopius of statues of Theodoric, and 
Theodatus, and Justinian, and it is probable these might have 
been in the Forum of Trajan. § The sight of this Forum 
would furnish a singular supplement to ancient history, and 
rescue from oblivion many who were as much the delight and 
admiration of their cotemporaries as Cicero or Virgil. 

Fragments of statues and pedestals were dug up in the 
great excavation, but only five inscriptions, of which four 
were copies of each other and in honour of Trajan, || were 

* cui cedat et ipse 

Tullius. Prudent. 

f Carmina, 7 and 8. 

X " Regina rerum Roma Regi Eloquentiffi." So the inscription ran. 
Eunap. in vit. Sopliist. 1. 8. 

5 Cecina Decius and Albinus, the regionarios, the authors of the Tables 
of Peutingcr and the Antonine Itineraries, and other writers, have been 
enumerated by the industry of Fabricius, Bib. Lat. 

!^ DeBelloGothico, lib. i. cap. 24. Here Procopius names the Forum 
as the place where the miraculous mosaic image of Theodoric was raised, 
and fell to pieces gradually with the Gothic kingdom ; the head Avith 
Theodoric, the belly with Theodatus, and the lower parts with Ajmala- 
suntha ; but in lib. iii. cap. xx other statues arc mentioned 
II Senatus, Popiilusque Romanus 
Imp, Cffisari. Divi 
NervEe, F. Nervae 



142 

discovered by the labourers. The first of these, however, 
confirms the above remark, and has for the first time intro- 
duced to the modern world Flavins Merobaudes,* a person 
whose merits were of the most exalted description, and, so 
they thought in the days of Theodosius and Valentinian, com- 
parable to the most extraordinary characters of antiquity. 

It may have been seen from former remarks, that at an 
early period, which cannot exactly be fixed, the Forum of 
Trajan, the noblest structure of all Rome, had partaken of 
the general desolation. From the moment we find a church 
there, we may be sure the destruction had begun. This was 
as early as the beginning of the twelfth century, and as that 
church was probably built not on the ancient flooring, the soil 
had already buried the ground plan of the Forum. The three 

Trajuno. Augusto 
Germanico. Dacico 
Pontif. Max. Tribunicia 



Potest. XVI Imp. VI. cos. VI. PP. 

Optimo de Republica 

Merito. Domi Forisque. 
* Fl. Merobaudi aeque forti et docto viro tarn facere 
Laudaiida quam aliorum facta laudare praecipuo 
Castrensi experientia claro facundia vel otiosorum 
Studia supergresso cui a crepundiis par virtutis et elo 
Quf>ntiae cura ingeniura ita fortitudini ut doctrinse 
Natum stilo et gladio pariter exercuit. Nee in umbra 
Vel latebris mentis vigorcm scholari tantum otio 
Torpere passus. Inter arnna litteris militabat 
Et in Alpibus acuebat eloquium, ideo illi cessit in prsemium, 
Non verbena vilis nee otiosa liedera honor capitis 
Hfcliconius sed imago sere formata quo rari exempli 
Viros sen in castris probatos seu optimos vatum 
Antiquitas honorabat quod huic quoque cum 
Augustissimis Roma Principibus 
Theodosio et Placido Valentiniano Rerum Dominis 
In Foro Uipio detulerunt remunerantes in viro 
Antiqufe nobilitatis novai gloriae vel industriam 
Militarem vel carmen cujus praeconio gloria 
Triumphali crevit imperio. 



Dedicata III. Cal. Aug. Conss. DD . INN. 
Theodosio. XV. et Valentiniano. IIII. 



I 



143 

churches, and the three towers raised by Boniface VIII., a^ 
well as the t^vo hundred houses which were levelled with the 
ground by Paul III. in 1536, were on the modern level, and 
as their date must have gone back to the foundation of the 
churches, we may fairly pronounce that long previously to the 
twelfth century the base of the Quirinal had begun to assume 
its ancient form ere it had been cleared away by the subjects 
of Trajan. 

Paul III. opened the base of the column,* and in the time 
of Flaminius Vacca, an arch was dug from underground, per- 
iiaps in the pontificate of the same pope, and the flooring ot 
the Forum was discovered, but immediately shut up again.! 
The late excavation enables us at last to tread the floor of an- 
cient Rome. The replacing the fragments of the columns on 
their bases, and the judicious arrangement of the other mar- 
bles, has created an effect little inferior to the wonders of 
Pompej. The stranger must be much struck with the massive 
Gr&ek dimensions of the fragments, when compared with the 
space in which so many buildings were raised.| Here we have 
a forum with its porticos, and statues, and tribunals 5 a basi- 
lica, with a double internal portico on every side ; a quadran- 
gular court, or atrium, also adorned with enormous columns ; 
two libraries ; a triumphal arch ; the great column and the 
portion of a temple, crowded into a space not so considera- 
ble as one of our smallest London squares. Whatever the 
earth covered of these magnificent structures is now exposed 
to view, and the remnants are sufficient to show what must be 
the subterranean riches of Rome. We may find it difficult to 
account for there being so much or so little left. Buildings 

* See note to Stanza Ixxx. pag. 104. 

T Meraorie, ap. Montfaucon. Diar. Ital. p. 187. 

X The giant texture of the Forum, the work of Apollodorus, struck 
Constantius dumb with astonishment. " Verum cum ad Trajani forum 
venisset singularem sub omni ccelo structuram, ut opinar etiam numinum 
assentione mirabilem, hrerebat attonitus, per giganteos contextus cir- 
curaferens mentem nee relatu ineffabiles, nee rursus mortalibus appeten- 
dos." Amm. Marcel, lib. xvi. cap. x. p. 145. Cassiodorus calls it a mi- 
racle. It was doubtless altogether the most extraordinary object in 
Rome. " Trajani forum vel sub assiduitate videre miraculum est." Lib, 
vii. p. lis. edit. 1679. 



144 

composed of columns were certain to be soon despoiled for 
the service of modern editices : but the flooring and some of 
the many fragments are so perfect as to make the sudden bu- 
rial of these parts of the city more probable tlian the gradual 
decay. The bronze statues had, however, been previously 
removed, if such an accident did overwhelm the Forum, for 
none were found. The head of the colossal statue of Tra- 
jan was extant in the sixteenth century.* 

Stanza CXII. 

Where is the rock of T)iumph, the high place 
Where Rome embraced her ?ieroes ? ivhere the steep 
Tarpeian ') 

Ruin and restoration have entirely efTaced every vestige of 
the domicil of all the gods. The greatest uncertainty hangs 
over this hill. On which side stood the citadel, on which the 
great temple of the Capitol — and did the temple stand in the 
citadel ?t Read every thing that has been written on the to- 
pography of a spot four hundred yards in length, and two 
hundred in breadth, and you will know nothing. Four tem- 
ples, fifteen chapels (ffides,) three altars, the great rock, a 
fortress, a library, an athenaeum, an area covered with sta- 
tues, the enrolment office, all these are to be arranged in the 
above space : and of these the last only can be with precision 
assigned to the double row of vaults corroded with salt, where 
the inscription of Catulus was discovered. The Athenaeum 
perhaps may have been where the prisons and senator's pa- 
lace now stand. The Tarpeian rock is divided, by the begf 
gars who inhabit the cottages, between the two angles to- 
wards the Tiber ; the highest is that called Monte Caprino, 
behind the gallery of the Conservators' palace, and the Pa- 
lazzo Caffarelli ; the most abrupt is the corner at the other 

* Ciacconlus de Colon- Trajan- 

+ Nardini, lib. v. cap. xiv. Donatusand he are at issue. The division 
of Rycquius into Arx, Capitolium, and Saxuni, docs not make his book 
a bit more clear- 



145 

end of the same Conservators' palace. Which of these two 
is the actual precipice whence the traitors were thrown, has 
not been yet resolved. The citadel may be believed to have 
extended along the whole side of the hill. 

The great capitoline temple was placed by Nardini on the 
Aracoeli ; but doubts have again shaken this presumption, and 
the Fcretrean Jupiter has put in his claim to that elevation. 
An earlier topographer mentions a church of Saint Salvator 
in Maximis, looking* towards the west, as occupying the site 
of the temple, and such a title, if existing now, might aid 
us in our conjectures. But no such church now remains. 

The revolutions of Rome were first felt on this hill. The 
Sabines, the Gauls, the republicans, the imperialists, the ci- 
tizens of papal Rome, have all contended for dominion on the 
same narrow spot. After the repairs of Domitiant it appears 
that the citadel was lost in a mass of golden-roofed fanes, and 
the word capital seems *o have been synonymous with the tem- 
ple, j From that time the triumphs and studies of peace were 
celebrated and pursued amidst the trophies of victory. Poets 
were crowned with oaken wreaths, § libraries were collected, 
schools opened, and professors taught rhetoric, from the reign 
of Hadrian to that of Theodosius the Younger. It is possi- 
ble that part of the establishment mentioned in a law pub- 
lished by Valentinian III. and Theodosius II. may refer to 
Constantinople. II There were, however, public schools in 
the Capitol. Three Latin rhetoricians, five Greek sophists, 
ten Latin and ten Greek grammariansj formed a respectable 
university. 

The change of religion bedimmed the glory of the Domi- 
tian Capitol, but did not destroy the structures, as Winkel- 

* Fabricius — " in ea Capitolii parte quae occasum versus forum Holito- 
riuin respicit." Di^scrip. orb- Roma, cap. ix. That is, on the side exactly 
contrary to Aracceli. 

f The gilding alone cost 12,000 talents, above two millions ar»d a half 
sterling. See note 45 to cap. xvi- Decline and Fall, torn. ii. p. 413. oct. 

t " Auratum squalet Capitolium." Hieron- in loco cit. ap. Note to 
Stanza Ixxx. 

5^ Decline and Fall, cap. Ixx. notes 10, 11. torn, xii- p. S27. 

II Tiraboschi, Storia della Lett. Ital. torn. ii. lib. iv. p. SS7. 



146 

mann heedlessly supposed.* The first despoilment is. how- 
ever, to be attributed to tt\e piety or rapacit} of Siilicbo. 
Gcnzeric is the next recorded plunderer ; but Theodoric does 
not appear to have missed the gilding of the doors, or th6 
tiles of the half uncovered roof of the ejreat temple, or the 
chain of the goddess Rhea. Jn his time '"the ascent of the 
High Capitols furnished a sight surpassing all that the human 
imagination could conceive."! How long these wonders 
were spared is unknown. It is prolnible that the robbery of 
the emperor Constans extended to the ornaments of the capi- 
toline temples ; but an antiquary of great note has thought 
liimsclf able to discover the temple of Jupiter as late as the 
eighth or ninth century.^ 

The hill does not reappear for ages, but seems to have 
been put to its ancient use, if it be true that the anti-pope, 
John, was thrown from the Tarpeian rock at the end of the 
tenth century. § It was again a strong place, and the Corsi 
family had fortified it, or occupied its fortifications, in 
the course of the next hundred years. Their houses on 
the hill were thrown down by the emperor Henry IV. in 



* Storia dclla arti, SiC. lib. xli. cap. iii. torn. ii. p. 419. note a. He 
went solely on the words of St. Jerome, (quoted in note to Stanza Ixxx.) 
on which Baronius had observed long before. " Verum non sic quidem 
concidisse affirmat Capitolini Jovis templuni, quod dirutum hoc anno 
fucrit, sed quod ornamentis tantum modo oxpoliatum." Annal. Eccles. 
ad an- 389, torn. vi. p. 51. edit. Lucae. 1740. 

f " Capitolia celsa conscendere hoc est huniana ingenia superata vi- 
disse." Cassiod. Form, comitiv. formar. urbis, lib. vii. p. 113. 

t Bianchini. See note to Stanza Ixxx. p. }!0. 

v^ Dissertazione sulle Rovine, p. 330. note A. There seems some 
doubt here. Muratori, ad an. 998, torn. v. p. 509. is much amused at a 
story of Peter Damian's, that the anti-pope had his eyes bi>red out,his ears 
cut ofl', and his ton{:i;ue also cut off, and being then put on an ass, with his 
face to the tail, which he held in his hand, was paraded about Rome, and 
obliged to exclaim, " Such is the deserving punishment of him who en- 
deavours to expel the pope of Rome from his seat." Damian tells this, 
with the exception of the tongue cutout ; a Saxon annalist tells it with 
the exception of the exclamation ; so that the joke is only in Muratori's 
confusion. 



147 

1D84, and Guiscard soon afterwards levelled whatever re- 
mained of the fortress.* 

In III 8, however, it was still the place of assembly. The 
friends of pope Gelasius II. and the Heads of the regions are 
said to have mounted into the Capitol, to rescue him from 
Cencio Frangipano.1 In that century the Capitol is crowned 
with churches, and in the possession of monks. Aracoeli and 
St. John the Baptist, the monastery of the Benedictines, 
(who were settled there by the anti-pope Anaclete II. about 
11 30 or 1 134), some gardens and mean houses and shops had 
succeeded to the pagan temples and to the feudal towers. | 

At the revolution of Arnold of Brescia (1143, 1144), in 
the same century, the Capitol was naturally selected for the 
restoration of the Senate and the equestrian order. The 
hill became the seat of the revolutionary government, and 
we tind Lucius II. in 1145, repulsed and killed with a stone, 
in an attempt to drive the people from their post.§ The re- 
building of the capitoline citadel|| was part of the proposed 
reform, and appears to have been carried, partially at least, 
into effect. From this period the Capitol resumed something 
of its importance, and, if those who saw it may be trusted, of 
its splendour. The people held a consultation there,** before 
they attacked Frederic Barbarossa, in 1155. 

It appears in the transactions of the subsequent centuries 
as the centre of the city. The duties and ceremonies of the 
recovered Senate or Senator, were rendered more respecta- 
ble, by being performed on the site of ancient dominion, and 
whilst the tomb of Hadrian was regarded with jealousy and 
affright, the tenant of the Capitol was looked upon as the law- 
ful master of Rome. Here Rienzi planted the standard of 
the good estate ; here Petrarch was crowned. The popular 
assemblies were convoked on this hill. The bell of the great 
tower was the signal of alarm, and was thought to watch over 

* See note to Stanza Ixxx. p- 85. 
f Annali d'ltalia, torn, vi- p. 389. 
X Dissertazlone, &tc. p. 357, 35 S. 
^ Annali d'ltalia, torn. vi. p. 480. 

II " Andavacostui (Arnold of Brescia) predicando che ai dovea rlffab- 
bricare il campidoglio" Annali d'ltalia, torn, vi- p. 481.. 
** Annali, &ic. torn. vi. p. 517. 

19 



148 

the new liberties of the Romans. The tolling is often heard 
in the night of those unhappy ages. 

The importance of this station was fatal to the new cita- 
del, which, after being frequently assaulted and taken in the 
quarrels of the barons, and the people, and the popes, seems 
to have lost all appearance of a fortress in the beginning of 
the fifteenth century. But the people were still summoned 
to the hill in the tumults which followed the death of King 
Ladislaus,* in 1414 ; and a house for the tribunals of the Se- 
nator and his Conservators was built upon the ancient enrol- 
ment office of Catulus. Hear what was then the condition of 
the hill from a Roman, who, after describing its ancient glo- 
ries, exclaims, " But noro, besides the brick house built for the 
use of the senator and his assessors by Boniface IX., and raised 
upon ruins, and such as an old Roman citizen of moderate for- 
tune would have despised; besides the church of Aracceli, be- 
longing to the brothers of the blessed Francis, constructed on 
the foundation of the temple of the Feretrian Jupiter, there is 
nothing to be seen on this Capitoline, or Tarpcian mountain, 
adorned once with so many noble edifces.'^''] In this picture of 
desolation may be inserted the fragments of marble recorded 
^J Poggio, and the cottages which served for the shops of the 
artisans who frequented the Wednesday market held there, 
until transferred, in 1477, to the Piazza Navona.| 

The present state of the Capitol dates from the pontificate 
of Paul III. On the establishment of the papal power the 
castle of St. Angclo was to be the only fortress, and the ge- 
nius of Michael Angelo was employed to make the ancient 

* Vendettini. Serie chronologica, Sec. p. 75, 76. 

f " Nunc vero piaeter late.itiain domum a Bonifacio IX. minis snperse- 
dificatam qu;ileiri mediocris olim fastidissct Ilomanus civis usibus sena- 
toris ct causidirorum deputatam : piaster Arsecceli fiatium beati Franc, 
ecclesiam in Feretrii Jovis tenipli I'lindamenlis extnictam, nihil habet is 
Capitoliniis Tarpeiusve nions tantis olim aedificiis exornatus." Flav. 
Blond. Rom. Inst- lib i. fo. 10. edit. 1527. 

X " Eodera anno etmense essendosi pid volte ordinato lo consiglio nel 
Palazzo de' Conservatori, che si dovesse fare lo mercato di Mercordi 
nella Piazza di Nagoni, tamdem lo mercJfto fu cominciato alli tredici dio 
Settembre dello dt-tto anno (1 477)." Steph- Infess- Diar. Rom. ap. Script 
Rer. Ital torn. iii. par. ii. p. 1146. 



149 

citadel not only accessible but inviting. The broad and easy 
ascent, the facade and steps of the senatorial palace, the late- 
ral edifices, have accomi)lished this object ; but they accord 
ill with our preconceptions of the Roman Capitol. It should, 
however, be recollected, that although the area may have been 
partially levelled, the principal eminence is probably as high 
as that of the ancient hill. The tops of the buildings below 
were on a level with the base of the Capitoline structures in 
the reign of Vitellius, and the ascent was by a hundred steps,* 
which could hardly rise higher than the 124 steps of the 
church of Aracoeli. Calpurnius, in his seventh eclogue, says, 
that the top of the Coliseum towered above the Tarpeian 
rock. We can account for that rock appearing less terrific 
than might be expected : since a large piece of it, as big as a 
house of ample magnitude,! fell down in the reign of Euge- 
nius IV. The Cafarelli palace and other edifices conceal the 
form of the summit itself. 

Aracoeli, whether on the site of the great temple or not, 
preserves the post which it occupied eight centuries ago. 
The Benedictines made way for the Franciscans in 1252, and 
popes and cardinals have been ambitious to contribute to the 
dignity of the substitute. The corporation, calling itself the 
Roman People,^ aifected to emulate, in behalf of this church, 
the splendours of Catulus and Domitian, and gilded the whole 
interior roof, in gratitude for the victory obtained over the 
Turks in 1571. On the return of Marc Anthony Colonna 
from the victory of Lepanto, on the 16th of December in 
that year, he was received in triumph in the Capitol, and 
Aracoeli was the new temple which served, instead of the 
Jove, Best and Greatest, to receive the vows of the Chris- 
tian conqueror. The religious community amounted to 400, 
when the French dispersed them, and reduced their treasures 
to the base of the altar, which Augustus Cassar erected to 

* " Scandentes per conjuncta aedificia: qnx utin multa pace, in altum 
edita, solum Capitolii aequ;ibant." Ticiti- Hist- lib. iii. cap. Ixii. " Etqua 
Tarpeja rupes centum gradibus adltur." Ibid. 

t "Rupis Tarpeis, cujus pars maxima domus amplae magnitudinis 
scquiparanda proximis diebus collapsa est." Flav. Blond, ibid. lib. ii. fol. 22. 

+ Venuti descrizionc, &.c. di Rom. Mod. torn. ii. p. 341. edit. 1766- 



150 

the First-born of God, and to the picture of the Virgin 
painted by St. Luke.* The restored remnant is only a hun- 
dred. 

The Monte Caprino, behind the Conservators' palace, is 
choked up by dirty cottages, through one of which you are 
led to look over one of the Tarpeian precipices. The height 
of the hill on the side of the Forum is rendered more im- 
posing by the clearing away of the soil, which rose to the 
base of the senatorial palace, and formed a platform of dirt 
and rubbish, over which carriages are seen driving in the old 
views of Rome.t As, however, the stranger cannot have the 
satisfaction of climbing the Capitol by the ancient triumphal 
road, whose exact position has not been ascertained, he 
should pay his first visit on the other side, by the modern ap- 
proach, where the colossal figures and the trophies of Trajan 
in front, and the Equestrian Aurelius rising before him as he 
mounts, have an air of ancient grandeur suitable to the sensa- 
tions inspired by the genius of the place. 

Stanza CXII. 

The Forum, ii'here ine immortal accents glow, 

And still the eloquent air breathes — burns with Cicero. 

The reader may recollect a fine passage in Middleton's 
letter from Rome : "" For my own part, as oft as I have been 
rambling about in the very rostra of old Rome, or in that tem- 
ple of Concord where Tully assembled the senate in Cati- 
line's conspiracy ; I could not help fancying myself much 
more sensible of the force of his eloquence, whilst the im- 
pression of the place served to warm my imagination to a 
degree ahnost equal to that of his old audience.'^'' 

The author of the Free Inquiry was no enthusiast, even 
in the cause of his Favourite Cicero, and the emotions which 

* Veniiti, (ibid,) has the grace to say, " un altare che pretendesi eretto 
da Aiigiisto, cul titolo Wara Primogeniti ,Dei.^^ 

f See— Di'scriptio faciei variorum locorum quam prospectum vocant 
urbis Roma?. Fifteen engravings by Livinus Cruylius, prefixed to the 
fourth volume of Grajvius. 



151 

he confesses himself to have felt will be assuredly partaken, 
by any one imbued with a moderate respect for the wisest 
and best man of all antiquity. Every site and relic that can 
remind us of him must be regarded with that veneration with 
which he himself contemplated the porticos and seats of the 
Athenian philosophers : and we treasure up the little dies of 
the pavement which lie scattered on the Formian shore, and 
may possibly have been trodden by the saviour of his coun- 
try, with an affectionate regard scarcely inspired by the mas- 
terpieces of ancient art.* 

There is certainly no delight comparable with that derived 
from the sight of objects connected vt^ith the writings and ac- 
tions of those, who, according to the panegyric of Dryden, 

" BetttM* lived than vvc, though less they knew — " 
and how fully such a delight is enjoyed at Rome may be un- 
derstood by the most ignorant, and is experienced by the 
most indifferent observer. The fear of ridicule, the vice of 
the age, is, in this instance, insuflicient to check the honest 
indistinct admiration, which, it may be some consolation for 
the timid to learn from competent authority, is not the sign of 
folly, but of superior sense, and is the sole origin of wisdom. t 
The memory of the great orator was preserved at Rome even 
in the ages of ignorance. In the twelfth century an ancient 
structure was known by the name of the Temple of Cicero. 
He had not a temple raised to him, but no man that ever 
lived was so deserving of one.| 

We must be content with the site, for we cannot trust 
much to the objects of the Roman Forum. It will have been 
aeen that when Middleton was at Rome the eight columns 

* Cicero is the hero of Mola di Gaeta : a tomb, a villa, &c. are shown 
by the antiquaries of the inn at that town. 

t MaXa yap ^(,%oa6^ov 'tovio ib rta^ijj, to 6an)y.d^aiv, ov yap aji,?n; «p;tlj 
^iXoao^Ui ^ oMtfj Platon. Theoeteti- dialog, oper. torn. i. p. 155. The 
reader may remark the use the eloquent Winkelmann has made of this 
authority. Storia delle arti, Uc. lib. v. cap. vi. tom. i. p. 393. 

X Benedict, in his Ordo Romanus, says, " Mane dicit missam ad sanc- 

tam Anastasiam, qua finita descendit cum processione per viam juxta 

porticum Galiatorum ante templum Sybillae et inter templum Ciceroiiis 

et porticum Cimorum." Ap. Mabiilon. Mus. Ital tom. il. p. 125. ijum 

16 See — note to Stanza Ixxx p. 89. 



152 

under the Capitol with the inscription '■'■ Senalus Populus- 
que Romanus incendio consumptum restituit,''^ were usually 
supposed those of the Ciceronian Temple of Concord. 
In fact they had gone by that name in the fifteenth century, 
when seen by Poggio, who witnessed the destruction of the 
cell and part of the portico.* The author of the Ordo Roma- 
nus, in the twelfth century, places it near the Arch of Seve- 
ruSjt a position which seems to accord with that given to the 
Temple of Concord by Dion CassiusJ and by Servius,§ the 
first of whom says it was near the prisons, and the second near 
the Temple of Saturn on the Clivus Capitolinus. Plutarch in 
his life of Camillus, mentions that it looked towards the Fo- 
rum. An inscription found near the ruins, as Mar]ianus|| and 
Faunus** attest, and transferred afterwards to the Lateran, re- 
cords, that the Temple of Concord having fallen from old age, 
was restored by the Senate and the Roman people in the time 
of Constantine. Donatustt was positive of the authentic 
claims of the eight columns. The first to establish a doubt 
was Nardini,]:J and his opinion prevailed with Winkelmann§§ 

* "Romani postmodum sedem totam et porticus partem disjcctis co- 
lumnis suntdemoliti" De Variet Fortunae ap- Sallengre, torn, i p- 501. 

f " Descendit ante privatam Mamertini ; intrat sub arcu triumphali in- 
ter templum fatale et templum Concordiae" Ordo Roman. Auct. Bene- 
dict, ap. Mab. ib. p- 143. num. 51. The author of the" De mirabiUbus 
Romffi" also says, *' Templum Corcordise juxta Capitolium, ante quod 
arcus triumphalis." Ap- Montfaucon Diar- Italic, cap. xx. 

X Hist- Rom. lib. Iviii- cap. ii- torn. ii. p. 885. Near the prison, he says, 
that is the Mamertine, aXX u/VfHjixsp6v t; yi(>6vGia TiT^-riaiov ■tm) oixr^fiato; iv 
r^ 'Oixovohct, fcc. vol. ii. p. 885- edit. Hamb. 

5;, " Templum Saturni, quod est ante Clivum Capitolinum, juxta Con- 
cordia templum-" Ad ..^Eneid. lib. ii- ver- 116. 

]| Marlian- Topog. Urb. Rom- cap. x. lib. ii. only says, "Inventus est 
autem lapis," without saying where. 

** Faunus, lib. ii. cap- x. de Antiq. Urb. Rom- " In marmore prseterea 
quodam aliquando in ruinis reperto." Is the Abate Fea justified from 
this in saying, " Che vi fu trovata per testimonianza del Marliano e di Lu- 
cio Fauno ?" Dissertazione, &c. p. 299. See — note to Stanza Ixxx. p. 
6G. where this inscription is given. 

ft Lib. ii. cap. xiv. 

it Lib. v- cap. vi. 

^s} Storia dclle art), &.c. lib. xii- cap. xiii- torn, ii p. 413^ 



153 

and with Winkelmann's editor,* who, however, was converted 
before he had finished his labours, and to get rid of the diffi- 
culty respecting the two inscriptions, (the one in the Lateran 
and the other now on the frieze) supposes that they both may 
have been affixed to the Porch, and that the restoration was 
mside, Jirst under Constantine, and afterwards perhaps at the 
time that the emperor Eugenius encouraged the Pagan wor- 
ship. 

The fall and the fire and the modern Romans have left but 
little of the temple where Cicero assembled the senate, sup- 
posing these to be the ruins of that temple ; but it is something 
to hope that we tread the site and may touch a fragment of the 
Porch which was guarded by the equestrian patriots who 
escorted the consul and menaced Caesar and the friends of the 
conspirators with their swords. t If this, however, was the 
Temple of Concord, it is not easy to understand why such a 
position should have been thought peculiarly secure. It does 
not certainly correspond with the usual incorrect notion that 
the temple was in the Capitol. The ruins can hardly be said 
even to be on the Capitoline ascent, which is supposed by 
some to be included in the Capitol itself.]: 

The doubts respecting the other three columns are of an 
earlier date than those concerning the Temple of Concord. 
Fulvius Ursinus considered the name of Jupiter Tonans a rash 
conjecture when applied to any certain position in the Capitol, 
and particularly near the modern prisons ;§ but the regionary 
Victor finds that temple in the Capitoline declivity, || which 
Seutonius had placed in the Capitol. It is in order to recon- 
cile these contending notices that the dilation of the Capitol 

* Dissertazione, &c. torn. iii. p. 299- ibid. 

t Pliilip. X. " Equites Roinani qui fiequentissimi in gradibus Concordias 
steterant," &c. 

\ Varro places the temple between the Capitol and the Forum. Fes- 
tus also, (in voc. Senatula) " inter Capitolium et Forum" See — Marlian. 
in loc citat. and Nardini ; also P. Victor, " Unum (Senaculum) ubi nunc 
est aides Concordiae, ubi magistratus cum Senioribus deliberant,'' de re- 
gionibus urbis. Ap Gra;v. torn. iii. p. xi. 

v^ Marlian. Ibid lib. ii. cap. iii. note 3. 

II " -S^des Jovis Tonantis in Clivo Capitolii, dedicata ab Augusto." De 
region, urb. Regio viii. in loc. cit. p. 105. 



154 

has been adopted by the antiquaries.* The letters left on the 
frieze, estitver,! correspond with the Lateran inscription 
thought to belong to the other temple, yet nothing has been 
gained by the coincidence. 

The late excavations have not cleared the doubts which ob- 
scure these superb remains : but the neighbouring column of 
Phocas can no longer be part of the temple of Jupiter Gustos, 
or the GriECostasis, or the bridge of Caligula. It must appear 
strange that the simple expedient of digging to the base to look 
for an inscription, was delayed until 1813, on purpose, as it 
were, to give scope to further conjecture. J It seems that 
some struggle was made to believe it dedicated to the empe- 
ror Maurice, the name of the fallen tyrant being carefully 
erased. 

The affection of Gregory the Great, who then exercised a 
powerful influence over the Romans, towards his Piety the em- 
peror Phocas, is well known to have been as great as that of 
the exarch Smaragdus, in whose name the column was erect- 
ed : and indeed that murderer has found a defender even in 

* Donatus, lib. ii. cap. xi, 

f Mr. Eustace, who appears never to have seen any thing as it is, tells 
us tliat RF.STITVTVM is fcad on the ruins, and accounts for it. He "modo 
siio" saw no diificuUies. Classical Tour, chap. x. p. 370. third edit. 

t optlMO CLE MENTIS. /e/icis5mOQUE 
PRINCIPI DOMFNO n.focae imperatorl 
TERPETUO A DO CORONATO TRIVMPHATORI 

SEMPER AVGVSTO 
SMARAGDVS EX PRAEPOS SACRI PALATII 
AC PATRICIVS ET EXARCHVS ITALIAE 

DEVOTV^S EIVS CLEMENTIAE 
PRO INNVMERABILIBVS PIETATIS EIVS 

BENEFICIIS ET PRO QVieTE 
PROCVRATA ITAL. AC CONSERva/A LIBERTATE 
HANC STatvam. pietaTlS EIVS. 

AVRI SPLENDo;e rnicanTEM. HVIC 
SVBLIMI COLVmNnc ad PERENNEM 
. IPSIVS GLORIAM IMPOSVIT AC DEDICAVIT 
DIE_PR1MA MENSIS AVGVSTI INDICT. VND. 
PC PIETATIS EIVS ANNO QVINTO. 
See — Lettera sopra la colonna dell' Imperatore Foca. scritta da Filippo 
Aurelio Viscontl. Roma 1813. p. 10. 



155 

modern times.* The gilded statue representing a hideous 
monster, and such as the decayed arts could then furnish, the 
style and even the letters of the inscription, the shattered re- 
paired column, transferred from some other structure and de- 
faced by rude carving, must have forcibly bespoken the degra- 
dation of the Forum and of the Roman race. 

The local sanctity of the Roman Forum is somewhat impair- 
ed by the doubts vi^hich obscure the greater part of the con- 
spicuous remains in this quarter. The site of the Forum it- 
self, at least the exact position of it, is not quite determinately 
known. Some antiquaries, previous to Panvinius, thought it 
to be near the temple supposed that of Pallas, in what is now 
called the Forum of Nerva.t Fulvius laid it down between 
the Capitoline and Palatine hills. J Marlianus extended it as 
far as the Arch of Titus, and Baronius lengthened it to St. Ni- 
cholas in Carcere.^ Donatus believed in the more restricted 
sense,|| and he is followed by Nardini. Some idea may be 
formed of the size from that of the Forum of Trajan, which 
was probably the larger of the two. When Constantius visit- 
ed Rome, it was regarded as a venerable remnant of former 
power.** The destruction of the monuments and the desola- 
tion of the site must date at least as early as the fire of Guis- 
card. 

The name of the Roman Forum seems to have Ibeen oblite- 
rated in the earliest times, and when it reappears, the modern 
denomination by a singular coincidence shows that time had 
accomplished the repented vow of Totila.tt The Forum was 

^' Two Dutchmen sat down to protect and attack this worthy charac- 
ter. Ant. de Stoppelaar, oratio pro Phoca Imperatore, Amstel 1732. and 
Simon Van den Brink. Orat- in Phocam Imperatorem- Amstel. 1732. 
jVIr. Gibbon, torn. viii. oct. cap. xlvi. p. 212, overlooked or despised these 
authors, avIio were awakened from Iheir repose by the Abate Cancellieri? 
the friend of Visconti. Lettera. Ibid. p. 10. 

t Nardini, lil). iii. cap. xiii. 

\ Ibid. lib. V. cap. ii. 

5^ Ibid. ibid. ibid. 

II Donat. lib. ii. cap. xvi. cap. xix. 

** " Perspectissimum prisca) potentiai forum obstupuit." Amm. Mar- 
cel), lib. xvi. cap. 10. p. 143. 

ft Totila said he would make Rome a sheep-walk, ntn^o^otov. The co- 
incidence would be more striking, if, as the Latin translation interprets it> 

20 



156 

the Cow-field in the beginning of the fifteenth century, and the 
sacred precincts are usually known by no other name to this 
day. The accretion of soil is so great in the Campo Vaccino^ 
that the excavations to the ancient level have thrown up heaps 
of earth, the disposal of which has become a matter of difficul- 
ty. The dissection has not yet led to a correct anatomy of the 
ancient structure. Despairing of any discoveries at the foot 
of the three columns, (the pretended Comitium), the Abate 
Fea was directing the labours of the convicts in the summer of 
1817, to ascertain the actual direction by which the triumphal 
way ascended the Capitolihe hill. The difficulty of squeezing 
the twenty elephants and the four stags abreast of Aurelian's 
car, into the space between the Arch of Severus and the sup- 
posed Temple of Concord, was not, however, likely to be sur- 
mounted by any discoveries beneath the soil.* It does not 
seem that any flooring similar to that of the Forum of Trajan 
will be found in this quarter : nor have the labours at the base 
of the three columns decided whether they are still to be the 
Comitium, or be restored to their former tenants, Castor and 
Pollux, or to Jupiter Stator.t They have, however, added 
two or three fragments to the Fasti, the original mass of which 
was discovered at the opposite church of Santa Maria Libera- 
trice. 

Her Grace the Dutchess of Devonshire has had as little 
success at the foundation of the column of Phocas, but her 
enterprising liberality is not the less to be praised and imita- 

and as Mr. Gibbon has, apparently, copied from that translation, the Go- 
thic liing had used the words " in gregum pascua," a " pasture for cat- 
tle." See Decline and Fall, cap. xliii- torn. vii. at p. 369. 

* Vopisc. in Vit- Aunl. Hist. Aug. p. 210, edit. 1519 ; or under the arch 
would be equally difficult- 

f Nardini, lib. v. cap. iii. is positive for the Comitium ; after which we 
may be amused with the following opinions. " Quoique il y ait des anti- 
quaires qui croient que les trois superbes colonnes isol^es que Ton voit 
dans le Forum, fcc. et Topinion la plus cominune est qu'elles sont un reste 
du Poriique dii lemph de Jupiter Stator" Vasi. Itineraire de Rome, 1816, 
torn, i- p- 78. " Ma che sicuramente sono avanzi del tempio di Castore et 
Polluce." Itinerario di Roma, k,v. opera dell' Antiquario Andrea Manaz- 
zale, Roma, 1817, torn. i. p. 44. Mr- Forsyth has hit these two antiqua- 
iies, "lacquey dc places in print." 



157 

ted.* The contiguous sacred-way is a fine field of glory, and 
may be called virgin soil. From the church of St. Martina 
in tribus Foris to the corner of the Carinae, there is not an 
object that has not been disputed, and that may not again be- 
come the subject of controversy. Nardinit thought the 
church of Saint Hadrian might be the temple dedicated by 
Antoninus to Hadrian, a scandalous but probable conjecture ; 
just as the neighbouring S. MartinaJ is more likely to have 
been formerly devoted to Mars than to the " Sccretarium Se- 
natus,^'' a name given to it on account of an inscription found 
near it, and copied by Gruter. The church of St. Hadrian 
is the Temple of Saturn in one guide book, and the Basilica 
of Paulus Emilius in another.§ 

Next comes the church of St. Cosmas and Damianus, 
which was once set down to Castor and Pollux, then to the 
goddess Rome, afterwards to Romulus and Remus, then to 
Romulus alone, then to Remus alone. || The round vesti- 
bule is ancient, as are the bronze doors, although they did 
not originally belong to this structure, but were added by 
Pope Hadrian I. together with the porphyry columns. Even 
the modern objects change in Rome : for the famous picture 
in this church of the Mother of God,** which said to Saint 
Gregory, '"'' Gregorie quare me non salutasti?'''' is become God 

* The view of the Forum in Paul V's time gives a mass of brick work, 
called Rostra Vetera et Nova, near the Palatine ; some arched ruins, call- 
ed Templum Libertatis, near the Comitium ; then a single arch and two 
steps, like a sentry-box, Templum Deorem Penatum; and, behind these, 
the Curtian Lake, with four arches, partly filled up, called curia nova ad 
Septentrionem vergens. 

t Lib- V. cap C. 

X It is called in tribus foris, from the contiguity of the Roman, Augus- 
tan, and Julian forums, a proof of its high antiquity. These names of 
churches are the great help in adjusting topography. 

5^ The same Vasi and Manazzale. 

II Nardini, lib iii. cap. iii- — Fabric. Descrip. Rom. cap. ix — Venuti Ro- 
ma Moderna, none x. torn- ii. p. 3.04. — Donatus, lib. iii. cap. iv. He 
thinks the round temple might have belonged to one, and the rectangular 
one behind to another. 

**" They show u.s here an image of the Virgin which reprimanded 
Gregory the Great for passing by her too carelessly." Letter from Rome. 



158 

the Father, with a globe in his hand, and two fingers held irp 
in papal benediction. 

The two half-buried Cipollinc columns which succeed in 
this line, are modestly called Remains of some ancient edifice. 
The learned Vasi remarks, that they stand on their ancient 
base, and that, therefore, when an excavation was made to the 
foot of them, in 1735, the ground plan of the sacred way was 
discovered. 

The inscription, divo antonino et divae favstinae, on 
the portico of S. Laurence in Miranda, would appear deci- 
sive : the antiquaries, however, are cautious to remark that 
there were two Antonines, and two Faustinas. 

The three vaults of the Temple of Peace would certainly 
seem part of that structure which astonished Hormisdas,* and 
which Herodiant calls the greatest and most beautiful work 
in the whole city. Even NardiniJ has no doubts here. But 
the modern antiquaries are determined to dispute about what 
part of the temple these huge vaults may be said to repre- 
sent ; a treasury, a Pinacotheca, perhaps a bath, or any other 
building of the Forum of Peace. The great excavations in 
1812 discovered immense masses of marble, but nothing to 
assist conjecture. 

This part of Rome must have been abandoned for many 
centuries, in order to form the accretion of soil at the back 
of these vaults, which slopes into an embankment of hanging 
gardens. Procopius talks of the Temple of Peace as being 
shattered with lightning and unrepaired. The ruins have 
supported modern buildings, of which fragments of towers 
still remain. In addition to the above-mentioned vestiges of 
the old city, the topographer may amuse himself with adjust- 
ing the many other structures which were crowded into the 
Sacred way.§ 

* Amm. Marcell lib. xvi. cap. x. in loc. cit forumque pads. 

f Herodian, lib. i- rtow to tifji E<p^r»;5 -teiitvoi xa-tf^^ixOr;, fii'^iotov xai 
xdM.vetov yiv6{*.ivov tHiV iv tij rtiiKei ?pyc>>i'. p. 58. edit. Basil- The fire by 
lightning happened in the reign of Commodus- 

X Lib- iii. cap. xii. 

^ See Nai'dini, lib. iii. cap. xii- 



159 

Stanza CXIV. 

Then turn ice to her latest trihune^s name. 
From her ten thousand tyrants turn to thee- 

For a sketch of these tyrants, and for the character and 
exploits of Rienzi, the reader is referred to the Dechne and 
Fall of the Roman Empire.* Those who have given us a 
portrait of the Romans of the dark ages, have represented 
them as uniting in their persons all the vices that can degrade 
the human character : but, in spite of the invectives of Liut- 
prandt and Saint Bernard,! those vices, with the exception of 
such as they shared with their barbarous cotemporaries, seem 
reducible to their ancient reproach, that they could not bear 
complete servitude, nor perfect freedom.§ The barbarian 

* Cap. xilx. Ixix. Ixx. 

f Liutprand was told, at the court of Nicephorus Phocas, that he was 
not a Roman, although he came from the pretended Roman Emperors, 
the Othos and Adelheid, but only a Lombard. It was on that occasion 
that the bishop of Cremona became violent, and attacked the Romans 
with that sentence which is extracted into the Decline and P"'all, cap. 
xiix. note 44. If, however, the reader will consult the original, lAut- 
prandi legatio ad JVichephoruvi Phocam, ap. Scrip. Rer. Ital. torn. ii. p. 479 
to 489, he will see that the insolence of the Greek Emperor, who said 
the Lombards were too big-bellied to fight, accusing them of "g-asfri- 
marg^iu," was the cause of the ambassador's abuse, which was directed, 
perhaps, rather more against the Byzantines, who had exclusively assum- 
ed the name of Romans, than against the inhabitants of Rome. Liut- 
prand, indeed, shows he did not allude to the Roman citizens of his day 
particularly, though he does talk of their subjection to harlots, the Theo- 
doras and Marozia, for he begins his attack with Romulus. " Romulum 
fratricidam, ex quo et Romani dicti sunt, porniogenitum, hoc est ex adul- 
terio natum chronographiainnotuit." Ibid. p. 481. Nichephorus mount- 
ed the throne in 963, and to believe Liutprand and S- Bernard strictly, 
we should think that the Romans continued to be the same abandoned 
race for two centuries ; if so, the Saxon Emperors had not improved 
them. Liutprand, it is true, might fairly say, that the descendants of 
Romulus had forfeited their title of lords of the world, kosmocratores. 

{ Decline and Fall, cap. Ixix. p. 270. vol xii. oct. See also Muratori 
Annali, ad an. 1152, torn. vi. p. 499. 

5^" Sed impcraturus es hominibus, qui nee totam scrvitutem pafi pos- 
9unt nee totam libertatem" Galba said this to Pjso. Tacit Hist, lib- i. 
cap. xvi. 



160 

blood which had been transfused into their veins was hkely 
to irritate, rather than allay this impatience of control ; and 
conceptions of original equahty, to which the enslaved sub- 
jects of the Cassars had long been strangers, might be im- 
ported by their union with the savages of the north. The 
ambassador of a despot, and a saint, might easily be disgust- 
ed with the thousand horrid forms which this tormenting feel- 
ing would assume, and which would betray itself in violence 
or perfidy, in arrogance or meanness, in proportion as they 
were able to shake away, or obliged to submit to, the yoke. 
Their conduct, from the first assumption of temporal power 
by the Popes, must seem absurd and contradictory, if it be 
not regarded as the consequence of a resolution to submit to 
no resident master whose foreign authority might enable him 
to employ a foreign force for their enslavement. The ob- 
jection applied both to Popes and Emperors, and their his- 
tory, if a few broken notices may so be called, is a perpetual 
struggle against both, sometimes united, and sometimes sepa- 
rated by a temporary alliance with the people themselves, 
formed the same purpose of final enfranchisement. 

We must not feel indignant at their ill-directed eflforts, be- 
cause they did not terminate in the independence obtained 
by the states of Tuscany and Lombardy. Their city had 
the misfortune of being the metropolis of Christianity, in 
which it was for the interest of the sovereigns of Europe 
that a priest should reign ; and, secondly, their too glorious 
name, and the pride of their Pontiffs, had tempted the ambi- 
tion of every conqueror, with a crown which could be con- 
ferred no where but on the banks of the Tiber. Thus they 
had to contend with pretenders who could never die, and 
who failed not to unite their efforts when the Romans thought 
themselves strong enough to aspire to an independence of 
both. It was the endeavour of the people and nobles to de- 
prive Leo III. of all temporal power, that made him apply 
to Charlemagne, and merge both the republic and the patri- 
cianate in the imperial title of the Frank.* 

* Sec— Annali d' Italia, ad an. 799, torn. iv. p. 431, 432. 



161 

John XII. invited Otho the Great to Ronie, in 962, under 
pretext of assistance against Berenger and Adalbert, and re- 
stored the Western Empire, which had been vacant since the 
death of Berenger Augustus,* in 924. 

It was to assist Gregory V. that Otho III. marched to 
Rome ;t and the protection of Benedict VIII. brought down!" 
Henry II. in 1014. 

The league between Adrian IV. and Frederic Barbarossa 
cost Arnold of Brescia his life, as the price of the Emperor's 
coronation. § 

As then the imperial and papal interests combined against 
the spirit of revolt, and called, in succession, Charlemagne, 
the Othos, the Henries, and the first of the Frederics, to 
Rome, so the annalists of either party have joined in the 
censure of every independent leader. The patrician Albcric, 
the son of Marozia, is handed down to us as a tyrant, || yet he 
held the dominion of Rome for two and twenty years, suc- 
cessfully resisted the repeated sieges of the capital, and 
peaceably transmitted his authority to his son, a youth of 
seventeen years of age.** The Consul, or rather the Ccesar, 
CrescentiuSjtt is, in the same manner, declared " a bad man, 
a man blinded by ambition," whose just punishment " served 



* Annali ad an. 961, torn- v- p. 961. 999. 

t Ibid, ad an 996, torn. v. p. 504- 

j: Annali, torn. vi. p 46- 

^ Annali ad an. 1155, torn- vi. p. 516. 

II " Termin6 in quest' anno il corso di sua vita Aiberico Patrizio o 
Principe o vogliam dire Tiranno di Romana-" Annali ad an- 954, torn- 
V. p. 384. 

** See note to Stanza LXXX. p. 82. 

ft Mr Gibbon, cap. xlix. calls him the Brutus of the Republic, but, in 
fact, he affected the empire. The Marquis Maffei's galler}' contained a 
medal with IMP. C^S. AUGUST. P P CRESENTIUS, on one side, 
round the head of the prince, and on the reverse a man on horseback ha- 
ranguing soldiers, with the legend exercihis S. C, below ; and on the 
base, S p. Q. R similar to the allocutions on horseback of Hadrian, 
Posthumus, and others. The arts appear to have been still preserved 
even in those ages, if we may judge from this medal. Verona Illustrata. 
par. iii. p. 500. edit. 173£. Crescentius was put to death in May 99)], and 
hanged, with twelve others, round the bastion of St- Angclo- 



162 

to deter those who knew not how to obey Pope or Emperor."* 
If Muratori says this, what is to be expected from Baronius ? 
Yet the Emperor Otho III., who murdered Crescentius un- 
dertook a barefoot pilgrimage to Mount Garganus to expiate 
his treachery.! The Guelf and GhibeUne writers are ahke 
unmerciful to popular leaders. The anti-popes of the people 
are Volponi with Muratori ; those of the Emperors sometimes 
a little anti-canonical, but often legitimate : there is no depth 
deep enough for either in the Ecclesiastical Annals. 

Arnold of BresciaJ is also delivered over to posterity as an 
heresiarch whose rebellious doctrines justly condemned him 
to the flames of both worlds. § These doctrines, however^ 
were not dispersed with his scattered ashes, but were con- 
centred in that Capitol, and by that Senate, which he re- 
stored ; andjidwever the ignorance of the age may have 
misappliediiis institutions, they served to retai'd, for three 
centuries, the confirmed establishment of religious despotism. 
The Romans were the last of all the people of Christendom 
who submitted to the Pope. The feudal wars of the city 
belonged to the times, and are not to be charged to the de- 
mocratical spirit, but to the impotence of the laws. 

Rienzi had the fortune to fall on better days and better 
tongues. With Petrarch for a poet,l| and a fellow citizen, 

* " Un mal' uomo, un uomo acciecato dall' ambizione, convien dire che 
fosse Crescenzio Console di Roma." Annali, kc torn. v. p. 504. 

" II che servi ad atterrii- chiunque iion sapeva allora ubbidire nfe al Papa 
nh air Iraperatore." Ibid- p. 510- 

t Annali ad an. 1001, torn. vi. p. 1, 2. 

I " Porro circiter annum Christi wcxlii. Romanus Populus ab Arnaldi 
Brixiani heresiarchse verbis seductis, rebellionem contra Petri successores 
justos urbis dominos primum instituit, rempublicam nempe atque Senatum 
prout antiquis temporibus fuerant restituere ausus." Antiq. Med- JEvi. 
torn. ii. p. 559. 

<^ " Messo costui (Arnold) nelle forze del Prefetto di Roma fu impicca- 
to e bruciato e le sue ceneri sparse nel Tevere, acciochfe la stolida plebe 
non venerasse il corpo di questo infame." Muratori. Annal. ad an. 1155. 
tom. vi. p. 516. 

II Petr. epistola hortatoria de capessenda libertate. Opp. p. 535. 540, 
and the 5th eclogue. Vir magnanime, vir fortissime, Junior Brute, arc 
the titles he gives Rienzi. De Sade was not the first who supposed the 
spirto gentil of Petrarch to be addressed to the younger Stephen Colonna : 



0> 163 

rude, but a witness of his exploits, for a biographer,* his 
merits have been fairly balanced with his defects ; and as 
those who suffered by his justice were the rebellious Barons, 
rather than the partisans either of the church or the empire, 
his half heroic, fantastic figure,t has been delineated with 
unusual partiality. The facility with which he succeeded in 
his first designs, shows that the albire of liberty had lost none 
of its charms at Rome, and that the tyranny of the nobles 
was equally odious with that of the Emperor or the Pope. 

The fall of this abortion of fortune was the fruit rather of 
his own intemperance than of the inconstancy of the Ro- 
mans. J As the overthrower of the usurpation of the nobles, 
as the assertor of justice, as the punisher of violence, and 
the projector of a splendid system which was to restore the 
freedom of Rome and of Italy, he did indeed " redeem cen- 
turies of shame." When the republican aspired to perpetu- 
ate his own power, when the tribune imitated the fopperies 
of royalty,^ when the reformer declared himself the cham- 

and that eulogy has been also claimed for Giordano de' Sabelli ; but the 
Italian editors have, for the most part, recognised the gentle spirit in Cola 
di Rienzi. [See Castelvetro's edition, Venice, 1756, p. 132, et seq.] 
Our London editor has rejected the French hypothesis. Zotti, torn. i. 
p. 1 12. Mr. Gibbon [chap. Ixix, ad fin. and chap. Ixx. p. 588, 4to.] follow- 
ed his favourite Abb6. 

* Histeriffi Romanaj fragmenta. Antiq.Med. Mvi. torn. iii. p. 399 to p. 
480, and 509 to 546- 

f " Costui era uomo fantastico ; dall' un canto facea la figura d' eroe, 
dair altro di pazzo." Annali ad an. 1347, torn, viii- p- 250. 

t Giovanni Villani seems inclined to divide the disgrace between the 
tribune and the people. 

" Nessuna signoria mondana dura 
E la vana speranza t' ha scoperto 
II fine della fallace ventura." 

Hist. Fiorentinse, lib. xii. cap. civ. Script. Rer. Ital. torn. xiii. p. 982. 

J:5 The account of the feast given by Rienzi in the Lateran palace, is a 
singular picture of the magnificence and luxury of those times, as well as 
of the vulgar profusion of the tribune. " Sweetmeats of various kinds ; 
a great abundance of sturgeon, a delicate fish ; pheasants, kids. Every 
one was allowed to pocket what he liked." " Confietti de divisate ma- 
nere. Fonce abbonnantia de storione (lo pescie delicato) ; fasani, capretti. 
Chi bolea portare lo rifudio, se lo portava liberamente." Hist. Rom. 
Fragraenta, cap. xxvii. p. 453, ibid. Stephen Colonna told Rienzi that 

21 



pion of superstition* and the church, he lost his distinctive 
character, and, Hke a more celebrated personage of our own 
times, left a convincing proof, that a revolution can be main- 
tained only by the maxims, and even the very forms, by 
vj'hich it was at first ushered into hfe. 

The modern Capitol retains two objects which recal the 
memory of Rienzi. The horse of Aurelius,! called, former- 
ly, the horse of Constantine, which stood before the Lateran, 
and from whose right nostril the tribune poured a stream of 
wine on the day of his ridiculous knighthood ;| and the bronze 
tabic, usually called the lex regia, conferring the privileges 
of dominion on Vespasian, which Rienzi expounded to the 
populace, and, by a strange distortion of meaning, cited as 
a proof of die majesty of their ancestors. § The inscription 

the decent garments of a plebeian were more becoming the tribune than 
those pompous robes which he affected. Ibid cap. xxviii. Some origi- 
nal letters of Rienzi, never before published, are inserted at the end of 
these notices. 

^ Instead of the Holy Roman Empire, Rienzi called it the Holy Ro- 
man Republic in his title. " Nicola Severo e Clemente, de libertate, de 
pace, e de justitia Tribuno, anco de la Santa Romana Repiubbica Lib- 
bfratore Illustre." It was in this spirit that his word of battle was the 
Holy (xhost, Cavaliers .' " E ordinal le battaglie, e fece li capitani delle 
Tattaglie. E deo lo nome Spinto Santo Cavalieri-^' Hist. Rom, Frag. 
eap. xxxii ibid. When he came from Avignon, he came as senator of 
the Pope. 

T " A stream of wine flowed from the nostrils of Constantine's brazen 
horse : no complaint, except of the scarcity of water, could be heard." 
Decline and Fall, cap- Ixx- torn. xiii. oct. p. 348. A trifling mistake in 
the masterly sketch of Rienzi's life. Wine flowed from the right, water 
from the left nostril. "In quella die continuamente de la matina nell' 
alva fi a nona, pe le nare de lo Cavallo de Constantino, che esse de vronzo 
pe canali de piommo ordenati jescio pe froscia ritta vino ruscio, e pe 
frosciit manca jescio acqua e cadea indificicntemente ne la conca plena." 
Hist. Rom Fragro cap- xxvi. p 451 loc cit 

} " Viliosi'. bufFonia," is the title given to the ceremony by the anony- 
mous author of tlie Fragments. Rienzi excuses it in a letter to his friend 
RayuaUl Orsini. See— the MS at the end. 

^ Rienzi was not quite so ignorant as Mr. Gibbon has made him : he 
did not us« the word liberty, but majesty. " Signori tanta era la majes- 
tate de lo popoln de Roma, che a lo imperatore dare Tautoritate." Ibid, 
eap. iii. Mr Gibbon calls the table " still extant in the choir of the church 
©f St. John Laterau." He evidently forgot, or did not know, thaA botk 



165 

was once in the Lateran, and is now in the Capitoline Mu- 
seum. 

The horse was called the horse of Constantine, by mistake, 
in the time of Theodosius II. In the regionary of the eighth 
or ninth century, the Cabalhis Constantini is near the Tem- 
ple of Concord, and was removed from the Forum to the 
Lateran in 1 187, by Clement III. It was so much neglected 
when Sixtus IV. put it in a more conspicuous situation before 
the Lateran, that Flamiuius Vacca, writing of it, says, it was 
found in a vineyard near the Scala Santa, which has been 
mistaken for a disinterment, but it was never underground. 
Paul III. in 1538, transferred it to the Capitol. But what 
Winkelmann says* of a nosegay given annually by the senator 
to the chapter of the Lateran as an acknowledgment of right, 
is not true. Michael Angelo made the pedestal out of a 
piece of the frieze and architrave of the Arch of Trajan.j 
Winkelmann has also mistaken in saying the man was not on 
the hoi-se in Rienzi's time* 

The Conservator's palace exhibits vestiges of the reform 
of Arnold of Brescia, and of his re-established senate. In 
apartments contiguous to that which contains the old Fasti, 
the modern series of inglorious magistrates is ranged, in hum- 
ble imitation of the venerable list of ancient conquerors and 
triumphs. The initials of the modern title are so given, that 
what must be read Conservators looks like Consuls. It does 
not seem to be known at what precise period the modern se- 
nate of Rome diminished from a council,:]: which at one time 
amounted to fifty-six persons, to a single magistrate ; nor does 
it appear, that after that reduction the government of the 
city was invariably trusted to one alone. § The senate, in the 

tliis table and the horse were in the Capitol when he wrote. The author 
of the Fragments says that Rienzi was the only man in Rome who could 
read or interpret the table. 

* Storia delle A.rti, torn- ii. p. 395. 

f See Dissertazione sulie rovine, fcc. p. 410, ad fin. 

X See — Serie cronolo^ica de' Senatori di Roma dal Conte Antonio 
Vendf'ttini in Roma, 1773. 

^ " E primieramente vediam© dall' elenco medesimo che i Senator! 



166 

modern sense, was an office exercised by one or more per- 
sons, for a term which was at first annual ; and we read of 
this senate long after the duties had been exercised by an in- 
dividual.* Notwithstanding the re-establishment dates from 
1143, the chronological series does not begin before the year 
1220, with Parenzio Parenzi. The names for the next year 
will sound powerfully to our ears — 

1221, Hannibal and Napoleon. 

Napoleon of the Orsi is a frequent name in the early fasti. 
The chief magistrate was assisted by three Assessors, to ad- 
minister criminal and civil justice ; but the next in dignity and 
power to those or to him who composed the senate, were the 
three Conservators ; and in addition to these the same list 
contains the names of the Capo-Rioni, who are often enrolled 
with the Conservators. There were marshals also, of whom 
one is recorded, and Praefects, or Notaries of the praefecture. 
In an interregnum, or during the absence of the senators, the 
Conservators exercised the functions, unless they were in- 
trusted to those who under various names of Reformers of the 
Roman republic — Chamberlains — Good men — Deputies of 
the people, supplied the place of the regular government, 
and were sometimes dependent on the bene placitum of the 
Pope, sometimes derived their authority from the people. 

The law by which an alien alone could be chosen for sena- 
tor, does not apply to those first on the list, who are specified 
as Romans, nor did it constantly obtain, in subsequent periods, 
until the reform of the statutes in 1580. 

When Brancaleone was elected, in 1252, this was the usage, 
but in the next century the office was divided frequently be- 
tween the Colonna and Orsini. Muratorit mentions, that 
the custom of choosing foreigners for magistrates, was intro- 

ora erano plii, ora un solo, e prima di questo tempo or uno or due." Ven- 
do.tt. Inc. citat. 

* His title was Illush-is ^st, and then lUusirissimus, ^vith the addition 
Dei gratia. 

t Dissertazione sopra Ic anlichita Ital. diss. xlvi. p. 67. torn. iii. 



167 

duced into Italy before the year 1180. The choice of fo- 
reign arbitrators in the controversies of states and princes, 
seems to have been the fashion of the thirteenth century. 
Thus the Enghsh referred to Phihp of France. Thus the 
kings of France and Arragon, and other princes — the Scotch 
for instance — submitted their claims to the judgment of King 
Edward I.* 

The ancient statutes have bee;i traced back to the year 
1364. 

Every vestige of the popular government,! which those 
statutes were meant to preserve, has been gradually abolish- 
ed ; and the Senate and Roman people, after nearly seven 
centuries of feeble, dubious existence, are now at their last 
gasp. One of the operations of the Cardinal Gonsalvi's mi- 
nistry has been to give an unity to the papal government, by 
depriving the Conservatoi's of some feudal jurisdictions which 
they still held at Viterbo. The senatorial palace of the Ca- 
pitol has probably seen the last tribunal of the expiring ma- 
gistrates. 

The pageant, however, remains. The three Conservators 
act certain parts in certain ceremonies : they stand on the se- 
cond step of the papal throne, and they have a right to carry 
the sacramental vessels between the high altar and his holi- 
ness, on Easter Sunday. The Senator of Rome bears a still 
more conspicuous part in these scenes of humiliation. When 
the Pope pontificates, the Senator stands amidst a seated as- 
sembly, but stands at the right hand of the hierarch, on a level 
with the throne, and a step above the Conservators. His 
cloak of golden brocade, and his depending rolls of borrow- 
ed hair, suit well with the meek ministerial attitude of the 

* See — Hume, Hist, of England, Edw. I- cap. xiii. 

f For a short account of the statutes and government of Rome, see the 
Decline and Fall, cap. Ixx. p. 380, torn xii. oct. What has been said 
above, was inserted merely in explanation of the modern Fasti Consu- 
lares. The civil and criminal justice of Rome, previously to the late re- 
volution, was esteemed, and with reason, the most iniquitous in Italy. 
The Cardinal Gonsalvi has attempted some reforms, since the restoi-a- 
tion of the Pope appeared likely to revive all the defects of the old go- 
vernment. 



168 

gentleman-usher ; but they are dwindled into nothing amidst 
the purple of the cardinals, and the seven-fold robes of the 
lioly father : even his patient resignation is obscured by the 
incense and awful bustle of that pious pantomime. 

The haif-starved porters of the Campidoglio make their 
boast to strangers, that their Senator is placed for life, and 
cannot be degraded from his office, even by the Pope him- 
self. But the Pontiffs have shown their conviction of his 
impotence, by dispensing with the statute which enacted that 
no one but an alien could be chosen. His present Holiness 
did not think it expedient to nominate a relation, as Rezzo- 
nico had done, but gave the idle title to the young Patrizzi, 
the representative of a noble Siennese family transplanted to 
Rome. 

The eloquent initials of the S. P. Q. R. are still to be seen 
multiplied on all the escutcheons and inscriptions of the mo- 
<lern city ; and the same ambitious formula has been imitated 
by the little tributary towns of the pontifical state. We 
read, on the stuccoed gateway at Tivoli, of a modern " Se-^ 
nate, and Tiburtine People." 

Stanza CXLV. 

JVIdle stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand. 

'' Quandiu stabit Colysaus, stabit Roma ; quando cadet 
Colysseus, cadet et Roma ; quando cadet Roma, cadet et 
snundus." These words are 'quoted by Mr. Gibbon* as a 
proof that the Coliseum was entire when seen by the Anglo- 

*Cap.lxxi. tom.xii.oct.p.419. Oneof the most picturesque descriptions 
•oftheeffectot'theColiseumis given by Ammian,who calls it a solid mass 
of stone-work, to whose summit the human eye can scarcely reach. 
^' Ainphitheatri moleni solidatam lapidis Tiburtini compage, ad cujuB 
summitatem aegre visio humana conscendti," lib. xvi. cap. x. p. 145; a 
structure where there was sitting room for 87,000 spectators, besides 
,place for more than 29,000 others, was the first amphitheatre of the 
kind ever raised, for that of Statilius Taurus is not to be reckoned. 
Pompey's theatre, a hollowed mountain, Avas also the first theatre made 
of stone. The Romans in both these works rose at once to perfection: 
the effect was instantly discovered to be insurpassable. 



169 

Saxon pilgrims at the end of the seventh or the beginning of 
the eighth century. At the same time, as they extended 
their admiration to Rome, which was then partially destroy- 
ed, it is not impossible that the amphitheatre may have been 
in some degree dilapidated even in that early period. 

The fire which, about the year 219, destroyed the upper 
wooden works, in which, amongst other conveniences, there 
were brothels,* occasioned the repairs of Heliogabalus and 
Alexander Severus and Gordian ; and the frequency of such 
restorations may be concluded from the different forms and 
materials lately discovered in the excavations of the substruc- 
tures of the area. Mention is made of a fire under Decius.t 
It was certainly in all its glory in the reign of Probus, and the 
seven hundred wild beasts, and the six hundred gladiators 
which he exhibited at once, could not occupy a twelfth part 
of the arena. The number of wild beasts which might stand 
together in this arena has been calculated to be ten thousand 
seven hundred and seventy-nine,J so that it may be no exag- 
geration to say that Titus showed the Roman people five 
thousand in one day,§ or that Probus, unica missione exhibited 
four thousand ostriches, boars, deer, ibexes, wild sheep, and 
other graminivorous animals, amidst a forest which had been 
transplanted into the amphitheatre. || Perhaps it is not to be 
understood that they were slain at once.** 

The Coliseum was struck by lightning in the reign of Con- 
stantine, but repaired ; for the laws for abolishing gladiato- 
rial shows were not observed until the reign of Honorius \]] 
and even after that period, men fought with wild beasts, 
which seems to have beea the original purpose of the amphi- 



* Lampridius mentions this in his life of Caracalla. 

f In the Eusebian Chronicle. See — MafFei. Verona. Illustrata. part iv. 
pp. 36, 37. edit. 1731. 

X By T. B. Nolli. See — delle memorie sacre e profane dell* anfiteatro- 
Flavin dal Canonico. Giovanni Marangoni. Rom. 1746. pp. 33, 34. 

^ " Atque uno die quinque millia omne genus ferarura." Sueton. m 
vit. Tit. 

II Vopisc in vit. Prob. p. 233. Hist. Aug. edit. 1519. 

*'^ Marangoni, ibid. p. 41. 

H See note to Stanza CXLL in the notes to Childe Harold- 



no 

theatre, rather than the combats of gladiators.* The fight- 
ing and hunting continued at least until the end of Theodo- 
ric's reign, in 526, and the seats of the principal senators were 
jealously preserved.! Maffei had heard of an inscription 
mentioning a restoration by that monarch, but was not able to 
find such a record. J As there is no notice of his repairs, and 
as his admiration of it is particularly specified, the dilapidation 
of the structure could not have been begun either by Alaric 
or Genseric. 

It is just possible that some of the holes which now dis- 
figure the whole surface, may have been made by the extrac- 
tion of the metals used for clamps, which we have remarked 
to have been a practice of the Romans even before the Go- 
thic invasion ;§ but Montfaucon|| is strangely mistaken in call- 
ing the Barbarians the sole and sufl!icing cause of all these 
holes : no less is another writer deceived in saying they were 
all made by artisans. Joseph Maria Suarez, who has written 
expressly on this subject, actually proves nothing with all his 
seven causes, and has made a gross mistake in supposing Vo- 
luslan had occupied a part of the amphitheatre as a strong 
hold in the reign of Theodoric.** It was a box at the shows 
he had seized, not a fortress. It The true account seems to 
be given by the editor of Winkelmann, who believes that the 
greater number of the holes were made for the extraction of 
the metals, and only a few, comparatively, for the insertion of 
the beams and staples necessary for forming chambers and di- 

* Verona Illustrata, part iv. pp. 2, 3. Maffei notices that Cassiodorus 
calls it theatrum venatorium. True : but gladiators had been abolished 
some time before, therefore the authority is not conclusive. 

f Cassiod. Variar. epist. 42. lib. v., the bishop lamented the enormity 
of the sport ; " actu detestabilis, certamen infelix," spectaculum tantum 
fabricis. Ibid, epist. 42. lib. iv. 

J Verona Illust ib. p. 37. 

<i See note to Stanza LXXX. 

II Montf. diar. Ital. " Unam germanamque causam foramirium," p. 
23^. See note 50. Decline and Fall, tom. xii> p. 419. 

** Jos. M. Suaresii de foraminib. lapid. diatnba. addressed to a Bar- 
berini in 1651. ap. Sallengre, torn. i. p. 318. 

tt " Hac crudeli surreptione captata turrem circi, atque locum amphi- 
theatri illustris recordationis patris eorum detestabili ambitu a vestris 
suggerunt fascibus expeditum." Variar. lib. iv. epist. 43. 



171 

Tisions, when the ruin was made a place of defence, in tlie first 
instance, and afterwards, perhaps a magazine of manufactu- 
rers.* The first plunder may have been begun in war, but 
was more the labour of peace, and was actually continued in 
the time of Theodoric.t The thieves worked in the night. 
The lead is still seen in some of the holes. The larger cavi- 
ties are to be attributed to the other cause. 

Totila is said to have exhibited the equestrian games of 
the Circus : but nothing is told of his reviving those of the 
amphitheatre. Justinian abolished the latter in every part of 
his dominion: and from that period, so Maffei thinks, the at- 
tacks of time and man began to be injurious. | The great 
mass of the external structure might, however, have been 
entire when it appeared to the pilgrims as durable as the 
world itself; but abandoned to neglect and exposed to the 
floods and earthquakes of the seventh century, much of the 
lower and more fragile part of the work must have been de- 
faced, and it seems probable that some of the mass itself had 
fallen when it was occupied by the Frangipane family in the 
twelfth century or earlier.§ Its decay would facilitate the 
conversion by the supply of fallen materials. 

The author of the memoir on the amphitheatre || ascribes 
the ruin of the arcades towards the Caelian mount to Robert 
Guiscard : who, if he destroyed the structures between that 
mount and the Capitol,** must necessarily have fallen upon the 
Coliseum. What is certain is, that for more than two centu- 
ries and a half the buildings dedicated to the amusement con- 
tributed to the distresses of Rome. Donatus, and after him 

* Dissertazione sulle Rovine, pp. 277, 278. 

t Var. Epist. lib. ii- epist. 7. lib. iii. cpist. 31. 

t Verona lUust. ibid. p. 60. " Allora fu, cho il grand' anfiteatro di Tito 
reso inutile commincio a soffir gl' insulti e del tempo e degli uomini." 

!^ Onufrius Panvinius in his MS. memoirs de gente Fregepanica quoted 
by Marangoni, ibid. 49. thinks this occupation took place after the year 
1000. 

II Ibid. p. 50. 

** " Et majorem urbis partem Coilium inter et Capitolium sitam 
evertit." These Avords of Leo Ostiensis (Ap. Baron, ad an- 1084) are 
quoted by Marangoni, but the Abate Fea, Dissert p. 395. finding no cer- 
tain memorial J hesitates. 

00 



172 

Mr. Gibbon, have made a mistake in supposing tliat a manu- 
factory of silk weavers w^as established there in the twelfth 
century. The Bandonarii or Banderarii of the Coliseum in 
1192, noticed by a cotemporary writer,* were the officers 
who carried the standards of their school, and preceded the 
pope in his coronation. No such employment was exercised 
in the Coliseum, which was now become a regular fortress. 
Innocent II. took refuge there in 1 1 30 ; and the Frangipani 
were shortly after expelled, but made themselves masters of 
it a second time. Alexander 111. retreated thither from the 
Ghibeline faction in 1165. 

In 1244 Henry and John Frangipane were obliged to cede 
the half of their intrenchment to the Annibaldi ; but by the 
authority of Innocent IV. recovered entire possession in the 
course of the same year. The Annibaldi, however, succeed- 
ed in driving out their rivals ; and held the Coliseum up to 
the year 1312, when they were compelled to yield it to the 
emperor Henry VII. In the year 1332 it was the property of 
the Senate and Roman people. This is the date of the bull- 
feast of which Ludovico Monaldesco has left an account! 

* See — Ordo Rotnanus xii- auct- Cencio Camerario. ap Mabill- Mu- 
seum Italic, torn. ii. p. 195- num.52. "Bandonarii Colossei et Cacabarii, 
quando dominus Papa coronatur, in eundo et redeundo ipsum cum rexil- 
lis prsecedunt, quasi etenim una schola est, et eadem die debent comedere 
cum eodem domino Papa-'' They were certain trained bands of the dif- 
ferent quarters, as we see by this expression in Villani, cap. xiv. lib. vii. 
Itiner. Greg X. " Currebant Banderarii Romani velut dementes tubis 
clangentibus." See also Ducange verb. Banderarii- — Marangoni p. 49. 
The mistake of Donatus is at lib. iii. cap. vi., that of Gibbon at cap Ixxi. 
p. 419. oct. vol. xii. 

t " Annali di Ludovico Monaldesco. ap. Script. Rer. Ital. torn xii. p. 
529, 542. A modester memorialist was never met with. This is all he 
says of himself: " I, Lewis, of Bonconte Monaldesco, was born in Or- 
vietto, and was brought up in the city of Rome where I lived. I wa.s 
born in the year 1327 in the month of June, at the coming of the empe- 
ror Lewis ; and now I will relate all the story of my times, for I lived in 
the world a hundred and fifteen years without any sickness except at my 
birth and death, and I died of old age, having been bed-ridden a twelve- 
month. Sometimes I went to Orvietto to see my relations." The narra- 
tion of his own death is found in all the MSS. and judiciously inserted by 
Muratoii, who bears testimony to the authenticity of this posthumous 
writer. 



173 

transcribed into the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 
The contrivance of such an exhibition has given rise to a per- 
suasion that the amphitheatre was then entire ; but the adap- 
tation of a range of benches round the area Avould not be dif- 
ficult even now ; and indeed it will be observed, it was re- 
solved to renew the bull-fights even at the end of the seven- 
teenth century. 

It is generally agreed that the porticos on the south side 
were the first to give way : and those who assign the earliest 
date to the destruction of the exterior range of arcades in this 
quarter and towards the Arch of Constantine, do not descend 
lower than the famous earthquake in 1349. It is certain that 
in the year 1381, a third part of the building and a jurisdiction 
over the whole was granted by the Senate and Roman people 
to the religious society of Sancta Sanctorum, who probably 
formed their hospital in the higher arches blocked up by the 
Frangipani, of whose walls traces are yet apparent towards 
the Lateran. Their privileges continued until the year 1510, 
and their property was recognised in the beginning of the se- 
venteenth century.* The arms of the S. P. Q. R. and of the 
above company, namely, our Saviour on an altar between two 
candlesticks, are still seen on the outside of the arcades to- 
wards the church of St. Gregory and the Arch of Constantine, 
which must, therefore, have been, as they are now, the exter- 
nal range ; but which, before the outer circles had fallen down, 
were, in fact, the internal arches of the first corridore. This 
proof seems decisive, that as early at least as the middle of the 
fourteenth century, the exterior circumference had ceased to 
be " entire and inviolate," so that Mr. Gibbon, by following, 
or rather by divining the mysterious Montfaucon, has made 
a mistake of two hundred years in assigning that state of pre- 
servation even as low down as the middle of the sixteenth 
century.! 

* Marangoni, ibid. p. 55. et seq. They seem to have made a claim so 
late as 1714, which was not attended to. Ibid. p. 72. 

f " The inside ivas damaged ; hut in the middle of the sixteenth century ^ 
an era of taste and learning, the exterior circumference of 1612 /eef was 
still entire and inviolate, a tnple elevation of fourscore arches, which rose to 
the height of I OH feet Of the present ruin, the nephews of Paul HI. are the 



171 

A letter in the Vatican library from the bishop of Orvietto, 
legate to Pope Urban V., about the year 1362, is said to inform 
that pontitr that the stones of the Coliseum had been otlered 
for sale, but had found no other purchaser (ban ihe Frangi- 
pane family, who wished to buy them for the construction of 
a palace. The editor of Winkelmann was, however,* unable 
to find this letter : and it is somewhat singular that no search 
has as yet been able to discover the document which Barthel- 
emy saw in the archives of the Vatican, and which contained 
a common privilege granted to the factions of Rome, of " dig- 
ging out" stones from the Coliseum. t The author of Ana- 
charsis, however, can hardly be suspected of an imposture ; 
and the exaggeration of Poggio, who says that in his time the 
greater part of the amphitheatre had been reduced to lime, J 
bespeaks some terrible devastation not at all reconcileable 
with that integrity which Mr. Gibbon affirms to have been 
preserved up to the time of Paul 111. The historian quotes 
both the document of Barthelcmy and the lamentation of the 
Florentine, and there is no way of accounting for his error ex- 
cept by supposing tbat he applied all dilapidation previous to 
that period solely to the interior elevation, which, however, 
would be also a mistake. Blondus has besides left a memo- 
rial of the ruin a hundred years before the pontificate of Paul 

guilty agents :^^ Decline and Fall, cap. Ixxi. p- 424. and note 63. ,^ft(r 
measwing the priscus ampkithcalri gurus, Monffaucoii, p. 142, only adds 
that it zoas entire under Paul III- Tucendo clamat. Aluratori, Annali 
d' Italia, torn- xiv. p. 371, more freely reports the guilt of the Farnese pope 
and the indignation of the Roman people- Liiok into Muratori, you find 
these words : " Per fabbricart- il PalazKtt Fanieso j;ran gnasto diede all 
antiteatro di Tito. Fece gridare il cUio o i Popoli suoi per le gravczze 
loro accresciute." Annali ad an. 1549. torn. x. p. 3i35. The indignation 
of the people was for the taxes, not the destruction of the Coliseum. 

* Dissertazione, fccc. p. 399. 

f " Et pi-jeterea, si ouines coiicordarcnt de faciondo Tiburtino quod es- 
set commune id quod foderetur" Minioires de I'acadeniie des inscrip- 
tions, torn, xxviii, p. b'd^. also published separately. 

\ " Ob stuUitiam Romanorum inajori ex parte ad calcem redactum." 
De V.iriet. Fortiui. in loco cit- Poor Marangoni interprets this folly to be 
their rebellion against, not the amphitheatre, but the pope. " Non oscu- 
ramente attribuendo cjueste rovine alia stoltezza dp' Romani ribellati coit- 
tro il Pontefice:' Ibid. p. 47. 



175 

III.* In fact we have seen that Paul II. had before employ- 
ed many of the blocks of travciiine for his palace of Saint 
Mark ; and Cardinal Riario for that of the Chancellery. 1 
Theodoi-ic thought a capital city might be built with the 
wealth expended on the Coliseum,^ and, indeed some of the 
noblest palaces of modern Kome have been constructed out ol 
a small portion of the ruins. There appears to have heen a 
sale of some of the stones in 1531, and in the next century 
others were employed in one of the buildings on the Capitol. § 
But all lesser plunder has been obliterated by the more 
splendid rapine of the Farnese princes. The Baths of Con- 
stantino, the Forum of Trajan, the Arch of Titus, the Temple 
of Antoninus and Faustina, the Theatre of Marccllus, added 
their marbles to the spoils of the Coliseum: and the accounts 
of the Apostolic chamber record a sum of 7,317,888 crowns 
expended between the years 1541 and 1549 upon the gigantic 
palace of Campo di Fiore alone. |1 Whether the progress of 
decay was anticipated and aided, or whether such blocks only 
as had already fallen were applied to the purposes of con- 
struction, is still a disputed point. Martinelli** has dared to 
believe in the more unpardonable outrage, whilst Marangoni 
has stepped forward to defend the Popes, but candidly owns 

* Both he and Lucius Faiinus and MailineHi attributed the ruin to thft 
Goths, mistaking an order of Theodoric to repair the walls of Catania 
with the stones of an amphitheatre, as if it applied to the Coliseum. Ma- 
rangoni, ibid. p. 44- 

t " Paulus II. a?des adhuc Cardinalis ad S. Marci amplissimas extruere 
ceperat : quas deinde cum Poatifex jedificaret ex aniphithcatri ruinis uti 
postea Raphael Riarius et Alexander Farnesiua fecisse dicuntur" Dona- 
tus, lib. iv. cap. ix. This is but a delicate phrase, if Paul III. had really 
thrown down the outside Mnges. 

\ Cassiod. epist. xlii- lib. iv. 

^ In 1604: these facts are stated from the documents in Marangoni, 
p. 56. 

IJ Dissertazione, &c. p. 399. note c. The mention of the Theatre of 
Marrellus has been added from Venuti Roma Moderna, in his account 
of the Farnese palace. 

*"^" Roma Ricercata nel suo sito. giorn. 6. Marangoni, ibid. p. 47. Mar- 
tinelli says, Paul IL cut doum the arches totvards St. John and St. Paul ; 
but Platina, who had been imprisoned by that pontill'and would not have 
been silent, {perhaps,) notices no such attack in his life of Paul. 



176 

that Paul III. and Riario may have thrown down many of the 
inner arches. 

Amongst the projects of Sixtus Quintus, was that of estab- 
lishing a woollen manufactory in the Coliseum, which had be- 
fore given shelter to the artisans of periodical fairs, and ac- 
cording to what we can collect of the plan from Fontana,* it 
appears that if it had been carried into execution, the arcades 
of the Coliseum would have been entirely closed up, and the 
whole mass have been converted to a circuit of dirty dens 
like the Theatre of Marcellus. Mabillon, who says that if 
Sixtus had lived a year longer, we should have had the Coli- 
seum entirely restored,! talks as if he had never been at 
Rome, or opened a single book on the subject. 

In 1594, some of the upper arches were occupied by me- 
chanics,]: who p?iid a pound of wax quit-rent to the arch con- 
fraternity of the Roman Gonfalonier. 

The papal government must be charged with neglect, if not 
with spoliation. Of the wall said to be built round the Coli- 
seum by Eugenius IV., there is no authentic record. Mr. 
Gibbon quoted it from Montfaucon, who took it from Flami- 
nius Vacca, who lived more than a hundred years after Euge- 
nius, and reported it on hearsay. § This majestic relic, which 
had been protected as a barrack, a hospital, and a bazar, and 
which more enlightened ages considered only as a convenient 
quarry, seems never to have been estimated in its true cha- 
racter, nor preserved as the noblest monument of Imperial 
Rome, until a very late period. Piety had interfered but 
feebly, notwithstanding the claims of the amphitheatre to vene- 

* Some of the earth was cleared away and excavations made in the 
area, and Sixtus had already advanced 15,000 crowns to merchants to 
" establish the manufactory." Fontana — di alcune Fabbriche fatte in 
Roma da PP. Sisto V. Marangoni, ibid- p. 60, 61. 

f " Vixisset Sixtus V. et amphitheatrum, stupendum illud opus, inte- 
gratum nunc haberemus." Iter. Ital. num. xxix. Mus. Ital. torn- i. p. 74. 

I Marangoni, ibid. p. 71, 7£. 

5^ Inlesi dire, fcc, Vacca heard it from certain Olivetan monks of San- 
ta Maria Nova; but Marangoni looked over their archives, and found no 
such record, nor have the Olivetans pretended to the property, ibid. p. 58. 



177 

ration. Fontana, in his work,* had intended to give a Ust oi 
the martyrs who suffered there, but employed a person to fur- 
nish his catalogue who is owned to have been of no very criti- 
cal capacity, and to have inserted names to which this arena 
could not pretend. The more judicious Marangoni, who will 
follow no blind guides, nor any less respectable authority than 
the Roman martyrology, or the sincere acts of Ruinart, or Su- 
rio, or Peter de Natalibus, thinks it a supportable conjecture^ 
that Gaudentius was the architect who built it, and was put to 
death for his Christianity by Vespasian. The excellent Vi- 
centine Canon forgot that he had just mentioned that the com- 
pletion of the work took place after the death of that empe- 
ror. He will, however, positively name ho more than eigh- 
teen martyrs of the male sex, beginning with Saint Ignacius, 
and ending with Telemachus, together with six females, four 
of whom are hardly to be reckoned amongst the triumphs of 
the arena, as the lions refused to injure them,! and they were 
reserved for less discriminating executioners. The list is 
considerably swelled with two hundred and sixty " anonymous 
soldiers," who, after digging an arena without the Salarian 
gate, were rewarded with death, which the Christian fasti call 
martyrdom, on the first of March, in the reign of Claudius II.J 
Marangoni avers that no memorial remains of the exact 
contrivance by which the sufferers were exposed to the wild 
beasts, although there are so many left of the conversion of 



* L'Anfiteatro Flavio descritto, e delineate, dal Cav. Carlo Fontana. 
Hag. 1725. Marangoni, ib p. 25. 

t S. Martina, S. Tatiana, S. Prisca, were all exposed to lions, who lick- 
ed their feet: also, " S. Daria verg. sposa di S. Crisanto, come crede il 
Martinelli, fu esposta dal Tiranno all' ignominia, sotto le volte dell' anfitea- 
tro, ove da un lionc fu difesa la di lei castita," ibid, p 2.'>. Then comes 
much learning to prove there were brothels in the amphitheatre, which 
appears certain ; but that there were lions in waiting may want confirma- 
tion. The lions being found good Christians, at least where females were 
concerned, virgins Avere condemned to worse than death from the vio- 
lence of men, and it became a proverb, " Christiani ad hones virgines ad 
lenones." See — Aringhi Roma Subterranea, lib ii. cap. i. tom. i. p. 197. 
num. 23. edit. 1651. 

t " Dugento, e LX. MM. anonimi soldati, sotto lo stesso Claudio II." 



178 

Oio lions : but he might have seen the small bronze reliefs at 
the Vatican found in the Catacombs, where the lions are seen 
chained to a pilaster, and the martyr unarmed and half naked 
at their feet. That some Christians suffered amongst other 
criminals is extremely probable. We learn from Marshal,* 
that the amphitheatre was a place of execution, and that un- 
der Domitian the spectators were glutted with burnings and 
crucifixions. Those who had the noble courage to die for 
their faith, would be punished and confounded, except by 
their own sect, with other rebellious subjects of the empire. 
it appears that the condemned were brought in at the close of 
the day, and that the gladiatorial shows we re terminated with 
these horrors. 

The Canon, in order to show how much the Coliseum was 
always esteemed by the pious, relates that St. Philip Neri 
was tempted by the devil there in the shape of a naked wo- 
man,! and that a friend of Saint Ignatius Loyola had a hun- 
dred gold crowns given to him by a messenger from the mar- 
tyrs who had suftered there, and who were the peculiar ob- 
jects of Loyola's devotions.J Moreover, Pius V. used to say, 



■^- Epig. 24. lib. X. Ep'ig. 7. ibid. S7. 

t The story is told from Father Bacci's life of Saint Philip Neri, lib. i. 
cap. V. n. viii. ; but Marangoni, in rolating it, does not observe that the 
dtn'il nuist have been as fond of the Coliseum as the saint. Neri was a 
very considerable prrson in his day, and raised several people from the 
dead, piirticularly a youth of the Massimi familj', on the 17th of the ka- 
lends of Apriliii 15S3. This family, one of the noblest, and descended 
(so it is thouglit) from tlie Fabii, have attested the fact, by building a 
chapel in thiir own palace, and by performing an annual service there, 
when they di:>tribute pictures of the miracle, drawn in 1761 by order of 
Camilkis Marquis Massimi, witli a subjoined account of it just as it hap- 
pened, in the presence of the father and many witnesses. Very nearly 
the same time that Neri was raising the dead in Rome, Lord Bacon was 
spreading his philosophy in London. 

t John Cruccius was the man's name— the messenger disappeared, 
after giving the crowns. Cruccius came home and told Ignatius, " II S. 
Padre tosto rese grazie a Dio, senza dimostrare alcun segno di maravig- 
lia, forse avendone avuto alcun lume superiore : ma quanto alia circos- 
tanza del luogo, chc fu I'anfiteatro, sembra potersi credere, che seguisse 
anche per intcrcessiono de' SS. Martiri, de' qnali S.Ignazio fu divotissi- 



179 

that he who wanted relics should take some earth from the 
arena, which was cemented with so much holy blood :* and 
Cardinal Uderic Carpegna always stopped his coach opposite 
to the Coliseum, and repeated the names of all the martyrs 
who had been sacrificed on that spot.t His eminence's pa- 
tience and piety were not, as we have seen, put to any very 
severe test. Yet, in spite of the sanctity of the earth, the 
structure itself was little benefited. 

At the end of the sixteenth century a little church, with a 
bell and a contiguous hermitage, were consecrated by Julio 
Sansedonio, patrician of Sienna, and bishop of Grossetto, and 
this structure was repaired, in 1622, in those arches where 
the hermitage and chapel are now seen. 

It was above the site of this church, on a wide platform 
which had been left entire over the arches of the old steps of 
the amphitheatre, that, from sometime in the fifteenth century, 
the " Passion of our Saviour" had been performed on every 
Good Friday, by expert actors, to an audience which Panciro- 
lus, in his " Hidden Treasures,"^ affirms was equal to that of 
the ancient games. We have notice of the " Resurrection" 
written by Julian Dati, the Florentine, also performed at the 
Coliseum, although the date in which that sacred farce (they 
are Tiraboschi's words§) was composed, cannot be precisely 
assigned. It might be contemporary with the Abraham and 
Isaac, acted at Florence, in 1449, with the " Balaam and Josa- 
phat," " the Conversion of Saint Paul," and other mysteries 
brought upon the stage in the latter half of the fifteenth cen- 
tury. 

These representations continued in the Coliseum until the 



mo." Marang. ib. 63. This is the way that books, and very good books 
too, are written at Rome. 

* lb. 64. 

t " Ed a tempi nostri,son io testimonio, che ogni qualunque volto sono 
ivi passato col Signor Cardinale Ulderico Carpegna, qiiesto piissimo Sig- 
nore ha fatto sempre fermare la carozza con fare la commemorazione de' 
SS. Martiri, che ivi gloriosamente trionfarono." Ib. 64. 

X Tesori nascosti, ibid. 09. 

^ " Non possiamo accertare quando quella sacra farsa fosse da lui 
composta." Storia deiia Lett. Ital. toni. vl. par. iii. lib. lii. p. 814. 

23 



180 

reign of Paul III., whose prohibition to continue them be- 
vspeaks him perhaps guilty of devoting the building to his own 
purposes of plunder. 

With the exception of the above-mentioned chapel-build- 
ing,* we lose sight of the destination of the amphitheatre, 
until 1671, when permission was obtained from Cardinal Al- 
tieri, and the Senate, to represent bull fights in the arena 
for the space of six years, and this would have certainly taken 
place had not Clement X. listened to the deprecations of 
Carlo Tommassi, who wrote a treatise to prove the sanctity 
of the spot.t In consequence, the pontiff employed the less 
pious zeal of Bernini, and by some arrangements of that ar- 
tist set apart the whole monument to the worship of the 
martyrs. This was in 1675, the year of the jubilee. J The 
measure then taken to prevent the entrance cf men, and ani- 
mals, and carriages, by means of blocking up the lower 
arches, and to put a stop to nightly disorders, were, however, 
found insufficient, and Clement XL, in 1714, employed Bi- 
anchini in repairing the walls, and finding other methods of 
closing the arcades ; and about that time were also erected 
the altars of the Passion. A short time afterwards was paint- 
ed the picture of Jerusalem and the Crucifixion, still seen 
within the western entrance. 

The Romans were not pleased with being excluded from 
their amphitheatre, and in 1715 made an application for the 

* Bramante Barsi got permission to excavate there in 1639- 
f The senate granted the permission, reserving a box for themselves, 
holding twenty persons, " senza pagamento alcuno." See the document 
in Marangoni, p. 72. 

$ One of the inscriptions affixed on that occasion runs thus — 

" Amphitheatrum Fl avium 

Non tarn optris mole et artificio ac veterum 

Spectaculorum memoria 

Quam Sacro Innumerabilium Martyrum 

Cruore illustre 

Venerabundus hospes ingredere 

Et in Augusto magnitudinis Romanje monumento 

Execrata Ceesarum sievitia 

Heroes Fortitudinis Christianse suspice 

Et exora 

Anno Jubileei. MDCLXXV. 



J8I 

keys, which the pope refused. The neglect of the interior 
may be collected from a petition presented in 1727, to allow 
the hermit to let out the grass which grew on the, surface of the 
arena.* A solitary saint had been established in the ruins at 
the first building of the chapel, and it is to a respect for one 
of his successors that we owe an interposition in favour of 
the Coliseum, which it would perhaps never have command- 
ed on its own account. An attempt was made in the night of 
the 11th of February, 1742, to assassinate the hermit, Fran- 
cis Beaufort, and it was expressly on that occasion that the 
accomplished Lambertini was induced to renew the conse- 
cration of the Coliseum.! His enclosures and edicts cleared 
it of murderers and prostitutes, and repaired the fourteen 
altars, and erected the cross : but in spite of this judicious 
interference, and whatever were the cares of the truly anti- 
quarian Braschi, half a century seems to have much hastened 
the progress of decay, and in 1801 the most intelligent of 
our countrymen foresaw the speedy dissolution of the whole 
structure. J 

The great earthquake in 1703, which threw down several 
large masses towards the church of St. Gregory, § most pro- 
bably loosened other portions of the ruin. The late govern- 
ment has propped the tottering fragment, and the immense 
buttress, which is modestly marked with the name and num- 
ber of Pius VII., and is said to have cost seventy thousand 
crowns, will help to secure the yawning rents on the side 
towards the Lateran. Sentinels have been found a more 
effectual protection than the hermit, or the cross, or the 
walls. 

* Marangoni, ib. p. 73 

f The author of the memoir attributes the profanations suffered by the 
Coliseum to the devil himself. " Ma poichfe I'infernale inimico continua- 
mente procura," &,c. p. 67. Benedict's edict bears date 1744. 

t See— Forsyth's Remarks, fcc. p. 146. 2d edit. 

^ Marangoni calls it a wing of the building, on the authority of Fico- 
roni, who was in Rome at the time. Vestigia e rarita di Roma, p- S9. 
" Essendo caduta un ala del Colosseo verso San Gregorio," ib p 48. 
One of the internal arcades also fell down on the day on which Innocent 
XI. died, 12th of August, 1689. 



182 

With the leave of Maffei,* there is still something more 
than a piece of the bark left to wonder at. The antiquary 
may profit by the recent exposure of the substructures of the 
arena ; but the cieai-ing away of the soil, and the opening 
the arches, increases the satisfaction of the unlearned, though 
devout admirers, who are capable of being affected by the 
general result, however little they understand the individual 
details, and who wander amidst these stupendous ruins for no 
other instruction than that which must be suggested by so 
awful a memorial of fallen empire. 



Stanza CXLVI. 

Sanctuary and home 
Of art and piety — Pantheon! — pride of Rome. 

Whether the Pantheon be the calidarium of a bath or a 
temple, or a single or a double building, it is evidently that 
structure of which the ancients themselves spoke with rapture, 
as one of the wonders of Rome : whose vault was like the 
heavens,! and whose compass was that of a whole region. J 

Notwithstanding the repairs of Domitian, Hadrian, and Se- 
verus and Caracalla, it is probable that the later artists copied 
the old model, and that the Portico may still be said to be- 
long to the age of Augustus. Knowing that we see what was 
one of the most superb edifices of the ancient city, in the 
best period of its architecture, we are surprised, when look- 
ing down on the Pantheon from one of the summits of Rome, 
with the mean appearance of its flat leaden dome, compared 
with the many towering structures of the modern town ; but 
the sight of the Portico from the opposite extremity of the 
market-place in front of the Rotonda, vindicates the majesty 
of the ancient capital. 

* " Che genera ancor maraviglia con quel pezzo della corteccia che ne 
sussiste" Veron. Illust. p. iv p. 24. 

I"" tbj Si iyd) vojiii^ci oti doXoaSei 6v t<^6vf>avc> rtpoSBOi,xtv. ' Dion- Hlst. 
Rom lib- liii. torn. i. p. 722- 

I " Pantiiiium velut regionem terretem speciosa celsitudine fornica- 
tarn." Amm. Maicell- lib. xvi. cap. x. p. 145. 



183 

The Abate Lazeri* has done his utmost to prove this struc- 
ture a bath, or, at least, not a temple ; or if it were a temple, 
he would show that a temple does not always mean a religious 
edifice, but sometimes a tomb, and sometimes the mast of a 
ship ; and that Pantheon was a band of soldiers. However, 
as our Pantheon is neither one nor the other of these three, 
we need not embarrass ourselves with the name, which was a 
difficulty even in ancient times. Dion ascribed it to the ex- 
panding vault, but tells that others referred it to the resemb- 
lance to several deities observed in certain statues of Venus 
and Mars.t There is no evidence that it was dedicated to all 
the gods, although such a persuasion prevailed with the early 
Christian writers :| nor is there any authority for the asser- 
tion of the pilgrim of the thirteenth century, that Cybele and 
Neptune were the original possessors of this temple. 

The words of Pliny should be reckoned decisive, that the 
Pantheon was dedicated to Jove the Avenger ;§ and Lazeri 
has only one way of getting rid of this witness, which is by 
remarking, that all places dedicated to gods were not neces- 
sarily temples. In his reply to objections he rather gives way, 
and retreats to the ground that the Christians did not think it 
a temple, or they would have destroyed it, as they did all 
other edifices devoted to the pagan religion ! ! This is the 
strength of his argument ; and, up to a certain point, he 
makes out his case better against, or, as he thought, for, the 
Christians, than against the pretensions of Jupiter to his 
claims over the Pantheon. In both one and the other posi- 



* Dlscorso di Pietro Lazeri della consecrazione del Panteone fatta da 
Bonifazio IV. Roma, 1749. 

t Hist. Rom- in loc- citat. 

X Paul the deacon — the martyrolos;y. " Idem (Focas) Papa Bonifa. 
cio petente, jussit in veteri fano, quod Panteon vocabant, ablatis idola- 
trise sordibus, Ecclesiam Beatae semper Virginia Maria;, et omnium Mar- 
tyrum fieri, ut ubi omnium non Deorum, sed Dsmonum cultus erat, ibi 
deinceps fieret omnium memoria sanctorum." De gest. Lang. lib. iv. 
cap. xxxvii p. 464, Script. Rer. Ital. torn. i. 

^ " Pantheon Jovi Ultori ab Agrippa factum, cum theatrum ante tex- 
erit Romie." Nat. Hist. lib. xxxvi. cap. xv. 



184 

lion the Abate has fallen into errors for which he has beeu 
sharply reproved by the editor of Winkelmann.* 

The positive merit of " saving and converting the majestic 
structure of the Pantheon"! would have been greater, if the 
consecration had taken place earlier than two hundred years 
after the triumph of Christianity. From the shutting of the 
temples in the reign of Honorius to the year 609, it must have 
been abandoned to the ravages of neglect. Vain attempts 
have been made to prove that it was dedicated before the 
above date,| but all the writers are of accord in this point : 
there is only some doubt whether all the Saints should not be 
esteemed the first possessors of the Christian church, instead 
of all the Martps. It seems, that as early as the fourth cen- 
tury, the Saints were worshipped with the Martyrs ;§ and, in- 
deed, as martyrdom grew more rare every day, and was not 
to be had, except now and then from an Arian tyrant, it is 
probable that simple saintship was regarded as a just title to 
an apotheosis. Gregory IV. changed the martyrs, however, 
into saints, at the re-consecration in 830, though the ancient 
name was still preserved — Bcata Maria ad Marti/res,\\ 

The positive merit of saving the Pantheon would have been 
more complete, if the pontiffs had not afterwards converted 
it to a fortress, which, in the time of Gregory VII. was called 
S. Maria in turrib^cs, and was defended by the anti-pope, Cle- 
ment III. when the Countess Matilda came to Rome in 1087.** 
It appears, from the form of an oath taken by the Senators of 
Rome in the time of Celestine III. about the year 1191, that 
it could receive a papal garrison, and was, together with the 
island of the Tiber, and the castle of Saint Angelo, fortified 
against the enemies of the church.tt 

* Dissertazione suUe Rovine, Sic. p. 234, note (c.) 

f Decline and Fall, cap. Ikx'i. torn. xii. p. 408. 

X By father Martene. Discorso, &.c p- 4. 

^ MabiUon, Cardinal Bona, and Fontanini, arc of tliis opinion. Dis- 
corso, p. 4. 

II Anastas in vit. Greg. IV. p. 2£6. Script Rer. Ital. torn. iii. 

♦** Baron, annal. ecclesias. ad an. 1087. 

ft MabiUon. Mus. Ital. torn. ii. Ordo Romanus, num. 8G. p. 215. Ju- 
ramentum senatorum urbis — " nominatiin autem isanctum Petruin, urbent 



185 

The pontiffs would have deserved more praise if they had 
not added and taken away ornaments at will ; if Urban VIII. * 
had not imitated the wretched Constans, and if he had not 
added his hideous belfries ; if Alexander VII. had cleared 
away all, instead of half, of the buildinjrs which blocked up 
the Rotonda ; if Gregory XIU. and Clement XI. had opened 
a wider space in front ; and, lastly, if Benedict XIV. had not 
white-washed the interior of the vault. The leaden roof, 
and the three supplied pillars, and other frequent repairs, arc 
to he registered amongst the merits of the Popes ; but, judging 
from the genera! appearance, we sball no where lind a more 
striking example of the neglect of the ancient structures of 
Rome, than at the Pantheon. Of this the common anti- 
quarian artists are so sensible, that they do not represent the 
edifice as it is, but as it should be, in an open space, where 
all its beauties may be beheld and approached. 

The piety, if not the taste, of the pontitfs should be in- 
terested in the decent preservation of this monument ; and if 
the names of heroes and emperors, if Jove and his gods are 
of no avail, respect for the founder, Boniface, and twenty- 
«ight cartloads of relics,! the worship of the Virgin and all 

Rumanam, civatatera Leoninam, transtybcriin, insulam, castcllum Cres- 
centii, sanctam Mariani Rotundam." All these the senator swore to as- 
sist the Pope to retain. 

* Urban made a boast of his robbery, and ainxed this inscription un- 
der the portico : " Url)anus Vill.Pont. Max. Vetustas ahcnti lacunaris 
reiiquias in vaticanas cohnniias et brllica tornionta, cor.flavit ut decora 
inutilia et ipsi prope faina; ignota (iercnt in Vaticano trmplo apostolici 
scpulchri ornamcnta in Hadriana arcc instrumenta publica; securitatis, 
anno Domini mocxxxii. Poiitilic. IX." 

t The twenty-eight cartloads of relics are founded on the authority of 
an old MS. cited by Baronius in his notes to the Martyrology. Anastasius 
does not particularize the exact quantity of relics, hut only says that 
Boniface brought manif ^ood things into the churcii. " Eodeni tempore 
petiit a Phocata Principe templum quod appellator Pantheon. In quo 
fecit ecclesiam Sancta; Marije semper Virginis et omnium martyrum. In 
qua ecclesia Princeps multa bona intulit" De Vitis Roman. Pontif. 
Script. Rer. Ital. torn. iii. p. It35. The Abate Laz»;ri defends nonifare for 
his transport of relics, saying, " and if it is true that which the aullior of 
the wonders of Rome tells of the l*antheon, that, before it was dedicated, 
the demons used to attack with blows those who came near it, we may 
easily Bce what motive induced Roniface to transfer thither that great 



186 

the saints, should rescue the temple from the contagion of 
common sewers and market-places. The veneration for a 
miraculous image, which has lately crowded the Rotonda, 
has not bettered the condition of the pavement : nor does it 
help the general effect of the interior prospect to be aware 
that we see exactly the same idolatry which was practised in 
the same spot sixteen centuries ago. A philosopher may 
smile, but a less indifferent spectator is shocked at the inex- 
plicable credulity which stares in the steadfast faces of a hun- 
dred worshippers, seated on chairs, for hours, before the 
image, in the wish, the hope, the certainty, of some indica- 
tion of Omnipotence from the dirty cobweb covered block 
which has been preferred into divinity. 

The Pantheon has become the shrine not only of the mar- 
tyred, but of the illustrious in every art and science : but the 
busts of Raphael, Hannibal Caracci, Pierin del Vaga, Zuc- 
cari, and others, to which age has lent her venerable hue, 
are ill assorted with the many modern cotemporary heads of an- 
cient worthies which now glare in all the niches of the Ro- 
tonda. The little white Hermaean busts, ranged on ledges, 
side by side, give to this temple of immortality the air of a 
sculptor's study ; and there is something embarrassing in 
reading so many names under almost every image : that of 
the portrait, of Canova the dedicator, and of the artist. A 
corner awaits Bodoni, now under the chisel of the modern 
Cleomenes, who will himself complete the crowded series. 
The many friends of the most amiable man in existence, and 
the admiration of all Europe, would long defer that mournful 
recompense. 

The inscription on the Pantheon, whose simplicity, if not 
whose date, belongs to the rise of the monarchy, 

M. AGRIPPA. li. F. COS. TERTIVM . FECIT.* 

multitude of martyrs in solemn pomp.'' Discorso. p. 26. The Abate 
also is scandalized with Baronius for owning, " in dedicatione templorum 
multa fuisse gentilibus cum pietatis cultoribus similia ex Suetonio disces :" 
and he talks of the " librkciuolo'^ of " un ial Coniers Middleton" p. 3S. 
meaning his letter from Rome. 

* The other inscription, given, as has been remarked in note to Stanza 
Ixxx. so often incorrectly, is thus written : 



187 

has all the effect produced by one of the greatest names, and 
by the most powerful title, of the ancient world. We may, 
perhaps, be inclined to think that the words were known an- 
ciently not to have been cotemporary with the original build- 
ing : for Aulus Gellius mentions, that a friend of his at Rome 
wrote to him, asking why he used the phrase " me jam ter- 
tium sct-ipsisse.'''' It should seem that the question would not 
have been asked if the inscription had any authority, or, at 
least, that Gellius would have cited it as a triumphant quota- 
tion, to show that the Augustan scholars had declared in favour 
of the adverb of Varro,* although Cicero had been unwilling 
to decide. 

Stanza CXLVIII. 

There is a dungeon, in whose dim drear light, Sfc. 

Alluding to the famous story of the Roman daughter. A 
Temple of Piety was built in the Forum Olitorium, by 
Acilius Glabrio the Duumvir,! to commemorate the victory 
of his father over Antiochus, at Thermopyle, and a gold sta- 
tue of Glabrio was placed in this temple. Festus mentions 
that it was consecrated on a spot where a woman once lived 
who had nourished her father in prison with her own milk, 
and was thus the occasion of his being pardoned. J Solinus 
has much the same account. It is a pity that so fine a tale 
should be liable to such contradictions. The father in Fes- 

" Imp. Caes. L. Septimius . Severus . Pius . Pertinax . Arabicus . Adia- 
benicus.Parthicus. Maximus. Pontif. Max. Trib. Potest. X. Imp. XI. 

Cos. III. P. p. Procos. et Imp. Cees. M. Aurelius . Antoninus . Pius- 

Felix . Aug. Trib. Potest- V. Cos. Procos. Pantheum . Vetustate . cor- 
ruptum . cum . omni . cuitu . restituerunt." 

It is in two lines, and the second begins with Imp. Caes. M. Aurelius. 

* Noct. attic, comment- lib. x. cap. i. edit. Aid- p. 130. 
t Liv. Hist. lib. x. 

t " Pietati sedem ab Acilio consecratam ajunt eo loco quo quaedam mu- 
lier habitaverit, quae patrem suum inclusum carcere mammis suis clam 
aluerit ; ob hoc factum impunitas ei concessa sit." Sex. Pomp. Fest. de 
Verb. sig. lib. xx. ex Bib- Ant. August, p. 598. vol. 7. edit. Luc». 1772. 

24 



188 

tus id a mother in Pliny,* and the plebeian of the latter is a 
noble matron in Valerius Maximus.t The naturalist lays the 
scene in \.hc prisons of the Decemvirs, and adds, that a Tem- 
ple of Piety was erected on the site of these prisons, where 
the Theatre of Marcellus afterwards stood. The other wri- 
ter (Valerius), makes no mention of the temple. It seems 
clear, however, that Fcstus and Pliny allude to the same 
story, and that the change of sex was, perhaps, occasioned 
by some confusion of the father of Glabrio with the mother 
of the pious matron. J 

The antiquaries have chosen to point out the scene of this 
adventure at the church of '' St. Nicholas in carcere,^'* which 
should therefore stand on the site of the Decemviral prisons 
and the Temple of Piety. But here a great difficulty pre- 
sents itself. For if the Theatre of Mai'cellus had displaced 
both the prisons and the temple, which the words of Pliny 
would lead us to suppose, it seems useless to look for either 
one or the other at this day. But at this church there are 
evident remains, not of one only, but of two, and perhaps 
three temples, whose columns are incrusted in the lateral 
walls Oil each side. The antiquaries have assigned these 
triple vestiges to the Temple of Piety, built by Glabrio, to 
the Temple of Piety raised to the Roman matron, and to a 
Temple of Juno Matuta. This is sufficiently bold, when, if 
we follow Pliny, the first did not exist in his time, when, ac- 
cording to Festus, there were not two, but only one temple. 



"^ " Hiimilis in plebe et ideo ignobilis puerpera, supplicii causa carcere 
incUisa matre, cum impetrassct aditum a janitore semper excussa, ne quid 
in('< rrot cibi. deprelieusa est uberibiis suis alens earn. Quo miraculo salus 
matrio donata filia; pietati est ; ambajque perpetuis alimentis ; et locus 
illc eidem coiisecratus est dea; C. Quinctio. M. Attilio Coss tempio pieta- 
tis extructo in illius carceris sede, ubi nunc Marcelli theatrum est." Hist. 
Nat. lib. vii.cap. 36. 

t " Sanguinis ingenui mulierem praetor apud tribunal suum capitali cri- 
mine dainnatam, triumviro in carcere nccandam tradidit," &c. Valer. 
Max. lib. V. cap. iv. note 7. 

:j: Or perh.ips with the other Grecian story told by Valerius Maximusj 
(ibid. No. 1. Externa) of Perus and Cimon, of ivhich there wais a fine 
picture- 



189 

and when Juno Matiita is only known to have atood some- 
where in the Forum OHtorium.* 

The name of the church is S. Nicholas, " in carcere Tul- 
liano.^^ But the Tullian prisons could never have been here 
nor any where, exception the Clivus Capitolinus hanging over 
the Forum, and it has been proved that the last epithet which 
deceived the Cardinal Baronius,t and occasioned one of the 
famous Roman controversies, is a fanciful addition of latter 
times. Notwithstanding the assertion of Pliny, a prison that 
went by the name of the Deccmviral existed near the Thea- 
tre of Marcellus in the days of the regionaries, and a Tem- 
ple of Piety is recorded by Rufus, in the Forum Olitorium ; 
but as the temple is not mentioned by Victor,! and as the 
other writer puts it even in a ditFerent region from the prison, 
it seems stretching their authority to conclude S. Nicholas in 
carcere to be the site both of the one and the other, as well 
as of a second Temple of Piety, which never appears to 
have had any distinct existence. The name of the church is 
a very admissible evidence for the contiguity at least of the 
prison ; and as the columns cannot have belonged to that 
structure, they may be assigned to any of the temples or ba- 
silicas noted as being in that quarter. Lucius Faunus§ says 
there were in his time some vestiges of the prison ; but the 
hole to which strangers are conducted by torchlight at the 
base of the columns can hardly have any reference to the an- 
cient dungeon. II 

Aringhi has given the most striking example of the perver- 
sion of antiquaries, when he supposes that some lines of Ju- 

*" Forum Olitorium, Cohunna Lactaria, iEdes Pietatis, JEdes Ma- 
tutaj." Sext. Ilufi. de regionib. Urb. "Regio circus Maximus." Ap. 
Grsev. torn. iii. p. 98. 

t In notis ad Martyrol, a. d. xiv. Martii. Apolog. contra Hugonium, de 
stationibus urbis Romaj. Nardini, lib. v. cap. xii. gives a long account of 
the controversy. 

t Victor, " Career. C. or CL. X. Virorum." Regio IX. Circus Flami- 
nius, ib. p. 106. Rufus says, "Career- C. Virorum." Regio Circus Fla- 
minius, ibid. p. 97. The C should be CL.X- 

^ De Anticj. Urb. Rom. lib. iii. cap v. ap. Sallengre, torn. i. p. 217. 

II Nardini, lib. vi. cap. ii. takes no notice of the columns, but believes in 
the site of the prison and the story of Festus. 



190 

venal's third! satire* were intended to extol the size and mag- 
niticeiice of the single prison which could contain all the 
cri»iinals of earJj Rome ; as if the satirist had meant to praise 
the architectural giandeur, not the virtue, of the primitive 
agcs.t 

Our own times have furnished us with a new piety, which 
the French audience of Mr. Bruce thought to be a phrase 
happily invented by our gallant countryman. The coura- 
geous attachment of wives to their husbands under calamity, 
superior to what is found in any other relation of life, has 
been acknowledged in all periods, from the Augustan proscrip- 
tion! to the plague at Florence :§ and the 'conjugal pitty of 
Madame Lavalette|| is distinguished from many similar ex- 
ploits, merely because it was seconded so nobly, and occurred 
in an age capable of appreciating such heroic devotion. 

Stanza CLII. 

Turn to the Mole ivhich Hadiian rear'd on high, 
Imperial ynimic of old EgiipVs piles, 
Colossal copyist of deformity. 

This imitation of Egyptian deformity must not be supposed 
to apply to the mausoleum of Hadrian, but to the monstrous 
divinities, and the fabrics of the Tiburtine villa. The Mole 
was constructed, it is thought, on the plan, nearly, of the 
Mausoleum of Augustus or of Cecilia Metclia. 

We must recur to Mr. Gibbon to notice two or three mis- 
takes which he has made in his mention of this monument. 



* " felicia dicas 
Ssecula, qu£ quondam sub regibus atqiietribunis 
Videriint uno conteiitam carccre Romam." 
f Roma siibterranca, lib. ii. cap. i. torn. i. p. 200. 

J " Id tamf'ii ijotandum est, fuisse in prosciiptos iixorum fidem sum- 
inam, libertoium medium, servorum aliquam, filiorum, nullam." C. Veil. 
Paterc. Hist. lib. ii. cap. ixvii. 

^ Boccacio, in the introduction to the Decameron, puts the abandon- 
ment of husbands by their wives as the last horror oi the plague. 

II By some accident the phrase is omitted in the printed speech ; or, 
perhaps, the invention belonged to the reporters. 



191 

The first occurs in his account of the defence of Rome by 
Belisarius, where he says that the sepulchre of Hadrian was 
then converted, " for the tirst time, to the uses of a citadel."* 
This does not seem probable ; for the account given of it by 
Procopius tells us that it had become a sort of tozoer, and had, 
by additional works, been anciently] joined to the walls of 
Rome. Donatus| and Nardini§ believe it to have been fortified 
by Honorius at the first approach of the Goths, when he is 
recorded as having repaired the walls. 

It preserved until the tenth century the name of the Prison, 
or House of Theodoric,|| by which appellation it is designated 
once or twice, so late as the fifteenth century ;** and this cir- 
cumstance makes it appear that the Gothic monarch had made 
it capable of defence previously to the siege of the city by 
Vestiges. 

The second error occurs in a note in the same place of the 
history, in which the breadth of the sides of the ancient square 
base is mistaken for the height above the walls. ft 

Another inadvertency is to be found in that passage in which 
the historian tells us, that if the people " could have rorested 
from the Popes the castle of St. Angelo, they had resolved, by a 
public decree, to have annihilated that monument. "j| But 
the partisans of Urban VI., in the year 1378, which is the pe- 
riod alluded to, did take the Mole, which was surrendered to 
them after a year's siege, by a Frenchman who commanded for 
the Genevese anti-pope, Clement ; and it was on that occasion 
that they stript off the marbles and destroyed the square 

• Decline and Fall, Stc. cap. xli. torn. vii. oct. p. 230. 

t ria^-atoj ov^pwrtotare his words. TotOixt^v. tj a., p. 199, 

$ Lib, iv. cap. vii. 

^ Lib. i. cap. x. 

II " Quod doraum Theodorici dicunt." Bertholdus, ap. Baron. Ann. 
Ecclesias. torn. vi. p. 552. ad an. 1084. 

** It had then begun to be called Rocca, or Castello di Crescentio, l)ut 
the names were promiscuously used to the XV th century. Dissertazione 
suUe Rovine, &.c p. 386. 

tt " The height above the walls, exi^ov jj %i^ov (ioXt;v,'>^ says Mr. Gibbon, 
Ibid, note 83. The words of Procopius are tvpoj fiiv axc^ov ti i; %i^ov 
jSo^iyj; ixasttj fxovaa' ftXiv^dt, te avtov iieaa^ci h(s)v Isai d^.T.ijXatj,. Ibid. 

tl Cap. Ixxi, torn. sii. p. 418. 



192 

base, and would, conformably to their decree, have torn down 
the round tower itself, but were unable from the compact 
solidity of the fabric. 

The authority of Poggio alone, whom Mr. Gibbon cites and 
misinterprets, is decisive.* " The other [sepulchre]," says 
the Florentine, "which they commonly call the castle of 
*' Saint Angelo, the violence of the Romans, hath, in a great 
" measure, although tl^^ title of it is still extant over the door, 
" defaced : and, indeed, they would have entirely destroyed 
" it, if, after having taken away many of the great stones, they 
" had. been able to pull to pieces the remainder of the Mole.'* 
The resistance of the naked tower, when actually exposed to 
the triumphant rage of a whole people, must augment our 
respect for this indissoluble structure. 

The eiforts of the Romans are still visible in the jutting 
blocks which mark wiiere the corresponding portion of the 
basement has been toi-n away. The damage must have been 
very great, and have totally changed the appearance of the 
monument. In fact a cotcmporary writer,! one of Dante's 
commentators, talks of the " sumptuous work" being dc' 
slroi/cd and laid prostrate ; and another writer of the same 

* " Altorum qviod castium sancti Anf;;eli vuly:o dicunt, magna ex parte 
Romanonuu injuria, licet adhuc tituius supra portuni extet integer, distur- 
bavit ; quod certe funditus evertisstnt, (id enini publice decreverant) si 
eonnn manibus peivia, absumtis gjrandibus saxis relinqua moles extitis- 
set." De Fortun. Variet- Urb. Rom. ap Sallengre, torn. i. p. 507. 

f " Sed proh dolor ! istud sumptuosum opus, destructum et prostratum 
est, de anno pra>sonti, i;189, per popuiuni Komanum, quia fuerat aliquan- 
do detentum per fautores Robert! Caidinalis gebennensis." Benvenuto 
de' Rambaldi da Imola- Comment, in Dant. cant, xviii. ver. 28. torn. i. 
p. 1070. Oper Dant. 

Tiraboiiclii (Storia, fcc. torn. v. partii. lib. iii num. xi. p. 463.) has cor- 
rected this date to 1379, making, at the same time, tbe following shame- 
ful mistake : " Perciocche parlnndo del CampidogUo dice," (ib. p. 1070.) 
" sed proh dolor istud sumptuosum," kc. which shows that he ne%er 
could have read the commentary itself, which says nothing about the 
Capitol, and where the castle of St. Angelo is specified in the words im- 
mediately preceding the above quotation. " Ideo denominatum est ab 
isto eventuCastrum Sancti Angeli, sed proh dolor, &,c. The necessity 
of consulting originals is no where so obvious as in turning over the great 
Italian works of reference. 



Ids 

times,* records that the Romans did so handle it, and so dis- 
mantle it, that from that time the goats came to pasture 
about it. 

The usual uncertainty obscures the original form of this 
structure. The Augustan historians have left us only two 
short notices, by which we know that the Tomb of Hadrian 
was at the foot of the bridge built by that Emperor. The 
restored figure given in the Itineraries, the triple range of 
columns, the sculptured marbles, the gilded peacocks, the 
brazen bull, and the Belvedere pine, date no farther back 
than the description of Pietro Manlio, who wrote about the 
year 1160, and who did not tell what he saw himself, but 
quoted a homily of Saint Leo.t Manlio himself saw it as a 
fortress, with a church, perhaps, on the top, as described by 
Luitprand, a little before the time of Otho III. J Yet the 
description of Manlio was followed by the anonymous pil- 
grim of the thirteenth century, and also by the sculptor of 
the bronze doors of St. Peter's in 1435, which furnish the 

* " E si lo ebbero e tanto lo disfeccro che a tempo dappoi ci givano le 
capre a pascare." Steph. Infesa- Diario. ap. Script. Rerum Italic, torn, 
iii. parts, p. 1115. 

f " Est et Castellum, quod fuit memoria Adrian! imperatnris sicut legi- 
tur in sennorie S. Leonis Papse de festivitate S- Petri ubi dicit Adriani Iiii- 
peratoris mirfe magnitudinis templum constructum quod totum lapidibus 
coopertum et diversis historiis est perornatum : in circuito vero canceliia 
seneis circumseptum, cum pavonibus aureis et tauro a;neo ; ex quibus 
(pavonibus) duo fuerunt de iilis qui sunt in cantharo Paradisi. In quatuor 
partes templi fuerunt quatuor cabalii senei deaurati, in unaquaque fronte 
portae senese : in medio giro fuit sepulchrum porphyreticum quod nunc est 
Lateranis in quo sepultus est Innocentius Papa II. cujus coopertoriuni est 
in Paradiso B- Petri super sepulchrum Pra;fecti" See — Historia Basilicse 
Antiquse S. Petri Apost. in Vatic, cap. vii. p- 50. ad beatiss. pat. Alexand. 
III. Pont. Max. apud Acta Sanctorum, torn, vii part ii p. 37. edit 1717. 
Ant. Alexander was elected in 1159: there are interpolations in this 
history from the pen of a Roman canon of the Vatican, Paul, de Ange- 
lis. See — Prefat. p. 36. 

f " In ingressu Romanse urbis quaedam est miri operis mirseque fortitu- 

dinls constituta munitio munitio autem ipsa, ut cetera desinam, 

tantse altitudinis est, ut Ecclesia quae in ejus vertlce videtur in honore 
summi et cselestis militia? principis \rchan;;;eli Michaelis fabricata dicatur 
Ecclesia sandi Angeli usque ad ccbIos.''^ De rebus per Europam gestis, 
lib. iii. cap. xii. fo. 51. edit. 1514, 



194 

original of the pictures seen in all the guide books. The 
oldest description to be relied upon, that of Procopius, is 
much more simple. " Without the Aurelian gate," says he, 
" a stone's throw from the walls, is the tomb of the Emperor 
Hadrian, a striking and memorable work. For it is composed 
of Parian marble, and the stones adhere compactly together, 
although without cement. Each of the sides is in breadth 
a stone's throw, and the four sides are equal one to another : 
the height exceeds that of the walls. On the top are seen 
many admirable statues of men and horses of the same mar- 
ble ; and because this tomb seemed, as it were, a strong-hold 
over against the city, the ancients joined it to the walls bj 
two branches, which connected it with the town wall : it 
looks, therefore, like a high tower protecting the neighbour- 
ing gateway."* 

If then there was any colonnade similar to that of the plans, 
it must have disappeared before the time of Procopius : and 
the editor of Winkelmann, who avers that there are still 
evident traces of the adjustment of a vault, which sprang 
from the tower and terminated on the circular portico, asks 
whether it is probable, that the pillars of the lower range 
may have been employed in forming the great portico which 
led to the Vatican, or in building the Vatican Basihca itself.t 
By this query, it is presumed, he thinks such a conjecture is 
probable, notwithstanding the columnar ornaments of the 
sepulchre are merely traditional, and are falsely supposed 
to have enriched St. Paul's, zoithout the walls, with her 
paonazzctto pillars, and the Lateran with those of verd- 
antique. 

A more correct judgment could have been formed before 
the destruction in 1379, than can be deduced from the 
present naked skeleton of peperine, surrounded as it is by the 

^ Procop. in loc. sup. clt. 

t " Sarebbe mai probabile il dire, che le colonne piu grand! abbiano 
servitoal mentovato gran portico, che dalla mole giugneva fine alia basi- 
lica Vaticana, restaurato, e ampiiato di molto da! Pontefice S. Adriano. 
O che siano state impiegate nella stossa Basilica Vaticana ?" Dissertazione 
sulle rovine, Sic. p. S8G. If so, the church has another plunder to be 
noted of the monuments of Rome. 



195 

ipcpalrs and outworks of successive pontiffs : for it should be 
borne in mind by the spectator, that, excepting the circular 
mass, he sees nothing which dates earlier than the beginning 
of the fifteenth century : and that even the round tower itself 
has been much changed by the explosion of the powder maga- 
zine in 1497, the final reparation of which reduced the for- 
tress to its present form. The fate of the modern city, and 
even of the papal power, has in some measure depended upon 
the castle of Saint Angelo ; and by a lamentable coincidence, 
the tomb of one of their despots ^las helped to perpetuate the 
subjection of the Roman people. Of such importance was 
this fort to the pontiffs, that the taking of it is, by an ecclesi- 
astical writer, ranked with a famine, an eclipse, and an earth- 
quake.* 

At one time it commanded the only entrance into Rome on 
the Tuscan sidc.t The seizure of it by the Patrician Theo- 
dora, in the beginning of the tenth century, was one of the 
first steps towards the establishment of the power of herself 
and the more famous Marozia, her daughter : and the pos- 
session of it enabled her lover. Pope John X., after her death 
probably, to expel from Rome Alberic, Manjuis of Camerino, 
the husband of the same Mai-ozia.J The daughter, how- 



* " Eoden; anno per totum orbem magna fames fuit, ita qiiod c"inde 
multi homines mortiii sunt: et sol eclypsim passus eat, cnstrum S. An- 
geli capiumest, terra mota est." Vit. Pontif. Card, de Aragon. et alior. 
ap. Script. Rer Italic, torn. iii. p.'SlS. speaking of the year 10!]4. 

t Luitprand, in loc. sup. cit. 

I There are some doubts and difficulties respecting these two persons 
whom Mr. Gibbon calls sisters {v.i\p. xlix. vol. iv. oct. p. 197.) Marozia 
had a sister, Theodora, whom Baronius, by a great mistake, calls the wife, 
of Adalbert II., Duke or Marquis of Tuscany (Annali d'ltalia, ad an. 917. 
torn. V. p. 282.): but the lady to whom the exploits of a Theodora seem 
to belong, was the mother of Marozia, and she who placed her lover, the 
Bishop of Ravenna, on the papal throne, under the name of John X. in 
the year 914. This is the scortum impudens of Luitprand, who says of 
her, " Romanse civitatis non inviriliter monarchiam obtinehat." (Annali 
ad an. 914. ib.p. 27.S.) Mr. Gibbon tells us, that " </tc bastard son, tha 
grandson, and the great grandson of Marozia, a rare genealogy, loere 
seated in the chair of St. Peter," (ibid. p. li^8 ;) but John XI. was the son 
of her husband, Alberic, not of her lover, Pope Sergius III , as Muratori 
has distinctly proved (Annali ad an. 911. torn. v. p. 203.) Her grandsoa 

or. 



106 

erer, #a5 mistress of the castle in 925, and handed it ovcf, 
with the sovereignty of Rome, to her second and third hus- 
bands, Guido and Hugo. Her son Alberic drove away the 
latter, who vras obliged to^ drop down from the battlements 
upon the town wall. The castle stood two sieges against 
Hugo, and passed into the hands of the Patrician, Pope John 
XI!. That pontiff and Adalbert, son of King Berenger, en- 
deavoured to hold it against Otho the Great (A. D. 963,) but 
Were compelled to retire.* The Saxon emperor came to 
Rome and deposed John for "hunting and calling on Jove 
and Venus, and other demons, to help him when he played 
at dice, besides other irregularities. "t Otho addressed him- 
self to the assembly in Saxon, not being able to speak Latin. 
Benedict VI. was murdered in the castle by Cardinal Boni- 
face Francone (in 973) who was driven from Rome by Be- 
nedict VII., but kept the Mole by means of a band of ruf- 
fians, and thus enabled himself to return from Constantinople^ 
when he put to death another pope, John XIV. This was in 
084 or 98a.| 

It v/as in the succeeding pontificate of John XV. that 
the Cffisar Crescentius seized and re-fortified the castle so 
strongly, that it was called afterwards his rock or tower, and 
all the efforts of an imperial army, commanded by Otho III. 
m person, were insufficient to dislodge him. His surrender 
was, we have seen,§ the effect of treachery, not of force. 

The next memorable notice of the castle is the two years 
blockade of the anti-pope Cadaloo, in the time of Alexander 

Octaviaii, otherwise called John XII., was pope; but a g;reat grandson 
cannot be discovered in any of the succeeding; popes, nor does our his- 
torian himsell', in his siibsecjuent narration, (pag. £02.) seem to know of 
une. 

* The d;itf'S of some of tiiese events will have been seen in note to- 
Stanza LXXX. Luiiprand is the authority for Hugo King of Burgundy's 
method of escape. 

f " In h^do• alejE Jovis Veneris cieterorumque dr?monum auxilium 
po)!osiissi' dixfrnnt." Lnitprand, lib. vi. cap. vii. fol. xc. He was ac- 
cused also of turning the Lnteran h)to a brothel; in short, of every thinj; 
r>ut the real (.'frence, his opposilwn to Olho. 

\ Murntori has thetirst, Baronius the second dat*?- 

•S See note to Stanza GXIV. 



197 

il., in the years 1063 and 1064.* Gregory VII. defended 
himself in the fortress against the Roman partisans of Henry 
IV., and in this transaction also the Mole appears to have 
heen impregnable. The people and the Germans could not 
force their way into it, and the only effort made was to pre- 
vent Gregory from getting out. He was liberated by the 
army of Guiscard ; but the castle fell into the hands of his 
■enemies. The troops of the countess Matilda put it in pos- 
session of Victor III., whose garrison held it against the par- 
tisans of the anti-pope Guibert, in 1087. It was attacked by 
the people, and yielded by Urban II., not, however, in con- 
■sequence of a violent assault! (A. D. 1091). It was then 
resolved to level this " lasting shame" with the ground ; but 
the anti-pope, Guibert, Clement III., retained it for his own 
service, and defended it for seven years against his joppo- 
nents. 

The army of the crusaders, in 1096, assaulted it in vain. 
Urban recovered it by composition in 1098. Another anti- 
pope Anaclete II. wrested it from the hands of Innocent II,, 
who returning with the Emperor Lothaire III., tried, with- 
out success, to recover it. This occurred in 1137, and in 
the following year, after the death of Anaclete, and the de- 
position of Victor IV., Innocent was again master of the 
Mole. J The Peter Leone family guarded it for the succes- 
sive pontiffs, Celestine II., Lucius II., and Eugenius III., up 
to the year 1 153,§ when the new senate occupied this and the 
other fortresses. It stood a siege for Alexander III. against 
Frederick Barbarossa, in 1167 ; but fell into the hands of the 
senate after the retreat of that pontiff. 

The subsequent popes, however, seem to have been the 
nominal masters of it, even when they had lost nearly the 

* Annali d'ltalia, ad an. cit. There is a short history of the castle of 
St Angelo in Donatus, lib. iv. cap. vii. which being founded chiefly on 
Baronius, seems very incorrect, especially as to dates. 

Baronius would make it appear so. See^Annali ad an. 1001, torn, 
vi. p. 303. 

J Annalij tom. vi. p. 4C1 

^ Ibid, ad iin. cit 



198 

whole of the temporal power at Rome,* and after the re- 
treat to Avignon. A legate was governor at the elevation of 
Rienzi, and after his fall the Tribune remained for a month 
securely posted in the citadel. Innocent VI,, hearing of the 
death of his Tribune-senator Rienzi, was alarmed lest the 
barons should seize the Mole, and accordingly delivered it 
into the keeping of Hugo Lusignan, king of Cyprus, then 
appointed Senator. On the return from Avignon it received 
Gi'egory XI. (1376) ; but his successor, Urban VI., lost it in 
the hurry of the election. The opposing cardinals would not 
deliver it into his hands, and the captain of their anti-pope, 
Clement VII., defended it. as already described, until 1378, 
the date of its destruction. 

It remained dismantled until 1382, when two Romans said 
to Boniface IX. " If you wish to maintain the dominion of 
Rome, fortify Castle Saint Angelo.t He followed their ad- 
vice, and a great antiquary records the consequence. " Bo- 
niface IX., the pontitf, tirst fortified the Mole of Hadrian, 
and established the papal pov}er.'^''\ The people petitioned In- 
nocent VII. to restore to them their liberty, the Capitol, the 
Milvian Bridge, and the Mole, and seized, for a moment, all 
but the latter, which they assaulted, but were repulsed by the 
pontifical troops, and totally routed in the gardens of Nero, 
in the Vatican. 

Ladislaus, of Naples, expelled Pope John XXIII., and 
left the castle in the possession of his daughter, Johanna II. 
It now stood another siege from Braccio Montoni§, and was 
soon afterwards delivered to Pope Martin V. 

During the reig:i of Eugenius IV. a plan was laid for mur- 
dering the governor, and when that pope was driven from the 
city, the people attacked it furiously, but were unable to pre- 
vail. Sixtus IV. renewed the practice of naming cardinals 

* Donatus, lib. iv. cap. vii. p. 890. Script. Rer. Ital. torn. iii. 

T " Se tu vuoi mintei)ere lo stato di Roma acconcia castel Sant' An- 
gelo." Steph. Infess. diario. ibid, p- 1115. loc. cit. 

X "Bonifarius IX. Poiitif. max. primus, mole Hadriani munita Roma- 
norum Ponlifiicum ditionem stabilivit." Onuf- Panvinii Descrip. Urb. 
Romse ap. Grusv. torn, iii p. £99. 

!^ The dates will have been seen in note to Stanza LXXX. 



199 

to the praefecture of the castle. Nicholas V. added some- 
thing to the fortifications ; but Alexander VI. constructed the 
brickworks on the summit, and also the bastions in front of 
the Tiber. These additions enabled it to withstand the Im- 
perialists of Charles V. for seven months : and it was not 
finally taken by assault, but surrendered, by Clement VII. 
and his thirteen cardinals, upon terms. Paul III. and Pius 
IV. adorned and strengthened it ; but the great engineer was 
Urban VIII. ; he added a mound, a ditch, a bastion, and a 
hundred pieces of cannon of different calibre, thereby mak- 
ing it evident, as Donatus quaintly observes, that " his bees 
(the Barberini arms) not only gave honey, but had stings Ibr 
the fight."* 

Since the modern improvements in artillery, it is clear that 
the castle, commanded, as it is, by all the neighbouring hills, 
could never resist a cannonade. It was surrendered during 
the late war of 1814, after an idle menace from the French 
captain, that the angel on the top should sheath his sword be- 
fore the garrison would capitulate. 

Yet it has completely answered the intention of Boniface, 
and the Tomb of Hadrian has served for the basis of a modern 
throne. This must magnify our conceptions of the massive 
fabrics of ancient Rome : but the destruction of the memorial 
would have been preferable to the establishment of the nio- 
narchy. 

The interior of the castle is scarcely worth a visit, except 
it be for the sake of mounting to the summit, and enjoying the 
prospect of the windings of the Tiber. The memorials of 
Hadrian are reduced to a bust, and a copy of it shown in the 
principal saloon, whose frescoes are very little attractive, af- 
ter the sight of the masterpieces in that art. The size, how^ 
ever, of the room, is so considerable, that a tragedy was re- 
presented there under the direction of Cardinal Riario in pre- 



* " Nimiruiii apes non solum mel conficiunt sed etiam aculeatae arman- 
tur ad pugnam." Lib. iv. cap- vii ibid. Books were written to siiow 
how it should be fortified ; so the writer found somewhere ; he believes in 
Guicciardini. 



2oe) 

sence of the whole papal court.* The living still continue to 
be entombed in the repository of the dead, and the exploit of 
Cellini, which a view of the fort makes less surprising, ha^ 
been repeated by a late prisoner. 

Stanza CLIV. 

Majesty, 
Potvfr, Glory, Strenfrth, and Beauty, art all aisled 
In tuis eternal ark of worship undejiled. 

The ceremonies of a religion must, except where they are 
sanguinary, be considered the most harmless part of it ; if, 
however, our notions of primitive Christianity be at all cor- 
rect, nothing can so little resemble it as the present worship 
at Saint Peter's. A noisy school for children in one corner ; 
a sermon preached to a moveable audience at another ; a 
concert in this chapel ; a ceremony, half interrupted by the 
distant sounds of the same music, in another quarter ; a 
ceaseless crowd sauntering along the nave, and circulating 
through all the aisles ; listeners and gazers walking, sitting, 
kneeling ; some rubbing their foreheads against the worn 
toes of the bronze of Saint Peter, others smiling at them ; con- 
fessors in boxes absolving penitents ; lacquey de places ex- 
pounding pictures ; and all these individual objects and ac- 
tions lost under an artificial heaven, whose grandeur and 
whose beauties delight and distract the eye. 

Such is the interior of this glorious edifice — the Mall of 
Rome ; but religious sentiments are, perhaps, the last which 
it inspires. Where man has done such wonders, the ungrate- 
ful mind does not recur to the Deity ; and it is not at all un- 
charitable to conclude, that the worship of the early Chris- 
tians, condensed in the damp crypts and catacombs, wasper- 



" Tiraboschi, Storia, fcc. torn. vi. par. iii. lib, iii. p. 816. This was 
about the year 1492. Innocent VIII. was spectator, and the academi- 
cians of Pomponins Lfctiis were the actors. The plays were performed 
alsoin thecarflinars house, nnd"in media Circi cavea," probably the Co 
llseiun- 



201 

formed with a fervour which evaporates under the aerial vault 
of Saint Peter's. 

His present holiness, talking to an Englishman of the 
church of Rome, said to him, "You are good Catholics in 
your country ; here of is all talk (grido)." Pius had, at the 
same time, the discernment to attribute the superior earnest- 
ness of the CathoUcs of the United Kingdom, to their la- 
bouring under certain political disadvantages, which made 
their piety a point of honour and of pride. It has, in truth, 
been long before discovered, that penalties are little less ef- 
fectual than premiums, in keeping alive an absurd supersti- 
tion, which can fall into disuse only by entire toleration and 
neglect. 

The indifference of the Italians, however, must be under- 
stood under certain limitations. It may be true of the loun- 
gers at Saint Peter's, of the company which throngs the pa- 
pal shows, most of whom are foreigners, or of the higher 
classes, and perhaps of the clergy themselves. But the very 
old of both sexes, the peasantry, the greater part of the fe- 
males of all classes, but more in the higher than the middling 
orders, may be considered, in the whole, sufficiently obedient 
to the easy injunctions of their religion ; and, as far as faith 
is concerned, cannot have been much surpassed by the most 
devout of their ancestors. 

In all those conditions of mankind most readily exposed to 
danger or distress, and most easily affected by a sense of 
weakness, by a hope of the better, by a fear of the worse, 
the ancient superstition has recovered whatever influence she 
may have lost by the French invasion. At Rome the days of mil 
raclesare returned, and these miracles are solemnly examined.^ 
and, what is not a whit more ridiculous, substantiated ac«: 
cording to the rules of the council of Trent. If they coin- 
cide with this test of the sixteenth century, they are then ra. 
tified by the signature of cardinals, and published in the Court 
Gazette. It should be told that this last condition is prudent ; 
for a miracle at Rome is resorted to like a fire at Constanti- 
nople ; and on the notification of an exorbitant impost, the 
AJadonnas open their eyes, in order, if such a phrase may 



202 

be allowed, to open those of the people. This took place In 
the spring of 1817 ; but the imprisonment of three or four 
priests soon restored both the statues and their worshippers 
to their usual insensibility. When the images do not declare 
themselves against the government, their animation is rather 
encouraged than forbidden, and superstition is allowed its full 
play. The new constitution which the enlightened Gonsalvi 
has proposed does not apply to the spiritual condition of the 
people. 

Pius VII. himself underwent, more than once, a partial 
translation in 1811, at Savona, as we find by a picture now 
circulated in his capital.* When his Holiness returned to 
Rome in 1814, the people went out to meet him, with palms 
in their hands, and bearing full length portraits of him ; 
which is an honour never permitted except to the Beati, on 
their road to an apotheosis. Shortly after the happy evertt the 
city was solemnly lustratcd by holy water and missions, that 
is, sermons in the streets, to purge away the contagion of 
the French. 

There are still the above-mentioned missions at Rome and 
elsewhere, when the audience are preached into the imme- 
diate conflagration of their Mctastasios or other pernicious 
volumes ; and, stranger still, pious whippings are still publicly 
performed in addition to the discipline enjoined amongst the 
penances of the convents. The reader may not object to a 
short account of this extraordinary exercise, such as it is now 
administered in the oratory of the Padre Caravita and iu 
another church at Rome. 

The ceremony takes place at the time of vespers. It is 
preceded by a short exhortation, during which a bell rings, and 
whips, that is, strings of knotted whip-cord, are distributed 
quietly amongst such of the audience as are on their knees in 
the middle of the nave. Those resting on the benches come 
to edify by example only. On a second bell, the candles are 
extinguished, and the former sermon having ceased, a loud 
voice issues from the altar, which pours forth an exhortation 

* Witti this li'i^end : Pins . Sept . Pont . Max . Savonae. in Ecstasim 
iterum raptus die Assumptiouid, B. M. V. 15ta Augusti, liiU. His Ho- 
liness is in the air. 



203 

to think of unconfessed, or unrepented, orunforgivencrimci. 
This continues a sufficient time to allow the kneelers to strip 
off their upper garments : the tone of the preacher is raised 
more loudly at every word, and he vehemently exhorts his 
hearers to recollect that Christ and the martyrs suffered much 
more than whipping — " Show, then, your patience — show your 
sense of Christ''s sacrifice — shpw it with the zohip.^"^ The fla- 
gellation hegins. The darkness, the tumultuous sound of 
blows in every direction — " Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for 
us !" bursting out at intervals — the persuasion that you are 
surrounded by atrocious culprits and maniacs, who know of 
an absolution for every crime — the whole situation has the 
effect of witchery, and so far from exciting a smile, fixes you 
to the spot in a trance of restless horror, prolonged beyond 
expectation or bearing. 

The scourging continues ten or fifteen minutes, and when 
it sounds as if dying away, a bell rings, which seems to invi- 
gorate the penitents, for the lashes beat more quickly than be- 
fore. Another bell rings, and the blows subside. At a third 
signal the candles are re-lighted, and the minister who has dis- 
tributed the disciplines, collects them again with the same 
discretion ; for the performers, to do them justice, appear to 
be too much ashamed of their transgressions to make a show 
of their penance, so that it is very difficult to say whether even 
your next neighbour has given himself the lash or not. 

The incredulous or the humourest must not suppose that 
the darkness favours evasion. There can be no pleasantry in 
doing that which no one sees, and no merit can be assumed 
where it is not known who accepts the disciplines. The fla- 
gellation does certainly take place on the naked skin ; and 
this ferocious superstition, of which antiquity can furnish no 
example,* has, after being once dropt, been revived as a salu- 
tary corrective of an age of atheism. The former proces- 

* The priests of Cybele consented to that mutilation on which the 
monastic institutions have refined. Those of BeIlon;i slashed themselves 
with knives, or appeared to do so : and Commodus, who suspected some 
deceit, insisted on a performance of the ceremony in his presence, and took 
care that the wounds should be given in good earnest. But in both these 
instances the sufferers were priests. The wounding and cuttins were for- 

26 



204 

jiioiis of flagellants have not yet been renewed, but the crowds 
which frequent the above ceremony, leave no doubt that they 
would be equally well attended. 

Such an innovation may be tolerated, and perhaps applaud- 
ed, in the days of barbarism, when the beating of themselves 
w as found the only expedient to prevent the Italians from the 
beating of each other ; but the renewal of it at this period 
must induce us to fear that the gradual progress of reason is 
the dream of philanthropy, and that a considerable portion of 
all societies, in times the most civilized as well as the most 
ignorant, is always ready to adopt the most unnatural belief, 
and the most revolting practices. It is singular, however, that 
the humane Pius and the intelligent Cardinal-secretary, do not 
perceive the objectionable part of an in:titution which was 
prohibited at its first rise, by some of the wisest Italian 
princes, and is now allowed no where but at Rome. 

Flagellation began to be accounted amongst the duties of 
piety about the year 1260. It originated in Perugia, travel- 
led thence to Rome, and in a short time the high-roads of Italy 
were crowded with processions of penitents, two by two, 
sometimes nearly naked, sometimes in sackcloth, scourging 
themselves from city to city, and preaching the correction of 
vice, and peace. Twenty thousand Bolognese, with their 
Gonfalonier at their head, whipped themselves all the way to 
Modena. The Modenese made a similar voyage : and the 
Chronicles tell us,* that there was at the same time " a great 
flogging for the love of God,^'' in Parma and Reggio, and in 
other cities of Lombardy. Manfred, however, king of the two 
Sicilies, the signors of Milan, of Brescia, of Ferrara, " the 
sons and masters of iniquity,"! objected to receiving the dis- 
cipline : they shut their gates against the flagellants, who, on 
their march towards Milan, were scared by the sight of six 

malities, not a penance ; and the people did not, as in the whij)ping, 
partake in such atrocious fooleries. 

* " Fuit scovamentum magnum pro araore dei in Parma et in Regio et 
Mutina, et alibi etiam per Lombardiam, et paces inter homines habentea 
guerras facta; sunt" Chron. di Parma, ap. Murat. Dissertaz. sopra le 
antic. Ital. 75. p. fiOi. 

i " Iniquitatis filii et magistri renuerunt accipere disciplinam." Ibid. 



205 

hundred gibbets erected by the Torriani, Lords of the countrj, 
and whipped themselves back to whence they came.* With 
such opposition, the practice would have expired upon the 
highways, had not the pious foundling of fanaticism been 
caught up and cherished in the warm bosom of mother church. 
Flagellation was no longer vagrant on the roads, but still 
flourished in the streets of cities, and in churches, and in con- 
vents. It became also the bond of union and the consolation 
of many lay confraternities, as well as religious foundations, was 
enriched by papal indulgencies, and transmitted, with unim- 
paired favour, from generation to generation. 

The French govermiicnt had other uses, not so absurd, but 
more pernicious, to which to apply the nervous arms of their 
subjects, penitent and impenitent. Self-whipping was abolish- 
ed — it might have been thought for ever — but Pius Vll. has 
returned, and seems to forget that he is not Clement IV. 
The scattered funds for idleness have been, as far as possible, 
recollected in the Roman states, and some other parts of 
Italy ; and religious orders re-established, in many instances, 
to the regret of the communities themselves. The education 
of youth is, we have seen, again put into the hands of the i-c- 
suscitated Jesuits,! whose suppression is now recognised 
amongst the causes of the late convulsions of Europe. 

These views are powerfully seconded by the House of Aus? 
tria, whose possessions, under various branches of the same 

* " Sed volentibus venire Mediolanum perTurrianos sexcenta; furcae 
parantur, quo viso retrocesserunt." Ibid. p. 600- torn. iii. of the Italian 
edition. 

f Hume, tlie friend of all establishments, and who owns the miscon- 
duct of the Jesuits to have been much exaggerated, has this passage. 
" This reproach, however, they must bear from posterity, that from the 
very nature of their institution they were engaged to pervert learning, 
the only effectual remedy against superstition, into a nourishment of that 
infirmity ; and as their erudition was chiefly of the ecclesiastical and 
scholastic kind (though a few members have cultivated polite literature), 
they were only the more enabled by that acquisition to refine away the 
plainest dictates of morality, and to erect a new system of casuistry, by 
which prevarication, perjury, and every crime, when it served their 
ghostly purposes, might be justified and defended." History of England, 
Elizabeth, cap. Isi. 



206 

family, now stretch from the Apennines of Cortona to the Po 
and the Alps. The Tuscans, since the reign of Cosmo III., 
have received the bent of superstition, and are distinguished, 
particularly the Florentines, for a disposition to credulity 
which will now return with all its force. Yet Pignotti, only 
a few years past, could still disperse his liberal opinions 
through his engaging history. The literary journal of Lom- 
bardy is revised by the pensioners of the court ; yet, in the 
same precincts, the author of the Aristodemus still lives and 
writes. A German has been placed at the head of the uni- 
versity of Padua, yet the Italian Odyssey has just added 
another wreath to the poet of the neighbouring Verona. Yet, 
if the present depression shall continue to weigh upon the Ita- 
lians, such proofs of the unextinguishable genius of the soil 
will become daily more rare. All the elements which, under 
the creative encouragement of a free, or even an independent 
government, might compose a great and enlightened nation, 
will mingle into their primitive confusion, and sedate ignorance 
establish, upon the inert mass, her leaden throne. A ray of 
light may struggle through the darkness, another Canova may 
arise after a dreary interval, and a faint voice remind some, 
future age, that Italy was once the land of poets. 

" In vain, in vain, the all-composing hour 
Resistless falls : the Muse obeys the power. 
She comes ! she comes ! the sable throne behold. 
Of night primeval, and of Chaos old ! 
Before her, Fancj's gilded clouds decay, 
And all its varying rainbows die away ; 
Wit shoots in vain its momentary fires, 
The meteor drops, and in a flash expires. 

Nor public flame nor private dares to shine, 
Nor human spark is left, nor glimpse divine. 
Lo ! thy dread empire, Chaos ! is restored, 
. Light dies before thy uncreating word : 
Thy hand, great Anarch ! lets the curtain fall, 
And universal darkness buries all. 



207 

Stanza CLXXIII. 
Lo, JVemi ! navelled in Vie icoody hUls. 

Stanza CLXXIV. 
And near Albano^s scarce divided waves, ^c. ^c. 

Nemi, that is, the Arician grove, and the Alban hill, come 
within the tour commonly made by travellers ; and a descrip- 
tion, in the usual style, will be found in all the common guide- 
books. No one should omit to visit the two lakes. The 
tunnel, or emissary, cut nearly two miles through the moun- 
tain, from the Alban lake, is the most extraordinary memorial 
of Roman perseverance to be found in the world. An Eng- 
lish miner would be at a loss to account for such a perfora- 
tion made without shafts. It has served to carry off the re- 
dundant water from the time of the Veian war, 398 years be- 
fore Christ, to this day, uur has received, nor is in want of re- 
pairs.* 

When the traveller has wandered amongst the ruins of vil- 
las and tombs, to all of which great names are given, t he may 
examine the productions of a discovery which has been lately 
made, and which, if there be no deception, has brought to 
light a society possessed, apparently, of all the arts of ancient 
civilization, and existing before the arrival of ^neas in Italy ; 
a society which was buried in the convulsion that changed the 
volcano of Albano into a lake. 

Doctor Alexander Visconti has enabled us to judge of this 
prodigious discovery, by publishing a memoir on the subject, 

* All that Livy says of this great work, after mentioning that it had 
been prescribed by a Tuscan soothsayer and the oracle of Apollo, is, " Jam 
ex lacu Albano aqua emissa in agros." Lib. v. cap. liv. It was completed 
in a year. It is three feet and a half wide, and six feet in height. 

f Here you have Pompey's villa, Pompey's tomb, or, if that will not 
serve, the tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii, or, since that may not be 
bold enough, the tomb of Ascanius, in another quarter. Some, who are 
not content with tombs, call them villas. At the bottom of the hill, the 
antiquaries know the very cavern where Milo killed Claudius. 



208 

and the reader may like to see the fact stated plainly, and di- 
vested of the solemn whimsical pedantry of the antiquary, and 
of the legal involution of the attached affidavits. It appears, 
then, that the Signor Carnevali, a gentleman of Albano, had 
found, in January, 1817, a considerable quantity of cinerary 
vases, in turning up the ground for a plantation, near the road 
from Castel Gandolfo to Marino. On the 28th of the same 
month, one Signor Tomasetti, breaking up a continued mass 
of peperine which covers the declivity of the hill near the road 
to Marino, on the ground called Montecucco, when he came 
to the distance of five hundred and seventy-one Roman canes 
from the spot where Signor Carnevali had discovered his 
vases, suddenly found several cinerary vases, all of them bro- 
ken excepting one. These were under the layer of peperine. 
The two gentlemen above-mentioned resolved then to make 
farther excavations, and, in presence of several respectable 
witnesses, on the 4th of the following February, broke up 
another mass of the iiTinxe. ptperme, which measured one hun- 
dred and fifty-nine and a half Roman canes in square surface. 
They cut downwards through about a palm and a half of com- 
mon soil, and then lower, to the depth of two palms of pepe- 
rine, and came to some white cretaceous earth, the layer of 
which they found to be a palm and a half deep. In this layer 
they found a teri'a cotta, figured, vase, broken in many pieces. 
The vase was seen in its bed by all the witnesses, previously 
to being taken up. Other similar fragments were discovered 
as the labour continued ; and it was observed that the mass of 
peperine became much thicker, and covered the surface to 
the depth of four palms. Pieces of a conduit pipe of some 
size were also found, and that not in mass, but separated from 
one another. The fragments of vases produced from this ex- 
cavation, were not of sufficient size to furnish any conjecture 
as to the form of the vessels : but from the bottom of one, 
more eniire than the rest, they were thought to have had the 
shape of a jnla, or water cistern. 

It should be told that, at different periods, four and three 
years before, other fragments of vases had been found under 
the peperine ; and that under the same mass of peperine cer- 
tain stone-cutters had found pieces of iron, appearing to them 



209 

to be nails. Of these discoveries affidavits were made a little 
after the period of the present excavation, in March. The 
Signor Carnevali tells his visiters of a metal mirror also fomid 
in the same position, but the affidavits make no mention of it. 

The whole of ihc fragments found on the fourth of February 
were carefully collected, and, the next day, in presence of the 
former witnesses and a notary public, were examined and 
compared with the e^itire vases found in January by the Sig- 
nor Carnevali. The consequence of this comparison was a 
solemn judgment that \he fragments and the entire vases were 
of the same composition and materials. 

This identity being established, the same value was, of 
course, attached to the vases of the Signer Carnevali, which 
had been found not under the peperine, as to that of Signer 
Tomasetti, and to the fragments discovered on the fourth of 
February, under the rock. As, therefore, the Tomasetti vase 
and the fragments were in themselves in nowise curious, the 
antiquaries proceeded to the examination of the Carnevali 
vases with the same satisfaction as if they had been found wn- 
der the rock with the others. 

The Doctor Visconti addressed the above letter to his 
friend, Signer Carnevali, in April ; and the memoir having 
been read in the Archaeological Society at Rome, was shortly 
after published, together with the affidavits before alluded to. 
This memoir discusses the contents found in the Carnevali 
vases, which are indeed so curious, that it has been thought 
worth while to give a draAving of them, which, after personal 
examination, the writer can aver to be very correct. 

The whole memoir goes to prove that the vases and the 
nails, and all the Alban fragments, belong to a state of society 
existing in this mountain before the volcano of Albano was ex- 
tinguished, that is, at some unknown period before Ascanius 
founded Alba Longa,- in the year 11 76 before the Christian 
era. 

It is premised that the peperine under which the Tomasetti 
vase, and (by induction) all the vases, were laid, was originall}' 
a volcanic substance thrown up at the great convulsion, and 
gradually formed into stone. These burials, then, did not 
take place after, but before, the present surface was formed. 



210 

Ikerefore they belong to a people who lived at Alba before the 
lake was formed, and the crater became extinct ; these peo- 
ple Visconti calls Aborigines. With this foundation the Ro- 
man antiquary endeavours to show, that the burials may have 
belonged to a people even of the extreme antiquity requisite 
for such a supposition. 

For the burnt bones are no objection : burning the dead was 
practised by the very ancient Greeks, by the very ancient Ti'O- 
jans, by the very ancient Thebans, by the very ancient Ro- 
mans, and the very ancient Gauls, also by the modern Indians. 

The vessels of earth are no objection, for the tomb of Be- 
lus contained a vase of glass, therefore clay must be much 
more ancient ; besides which Numa had a college of potters ; 
and, in the time of Julius Caesar, the colonists at Capua disco- 
vered some very old monumental vascula of pottery, with some 
inscribed brass tablets, saying they belonged to the tomb of 
Capys ; add to this, these very ancient pottery works were of 
a dark colour, as are the Carnevali vases, as if tinged with 
the oxid of iron, and their composition differs from the com- 
mon clay by the addition of a certain quantity of volcanic sand, 
and according to a chemical analysis, they are thus combined 
in every 100 parts. 

Silicious earth 63^ 

Aluminous do 21^ 

Carbonate of lime 4^ 

Water 10^ 



100 



The different contents of the deposite are no objection, 
for the large outward jar, the cinerary urn, the ointment vase, 
and the metal ornaments within the cinerary vase, the cale- 
factorium, the perfume vase, the vase called guttus, the five 
other vases, perhaps, for wine, and milk, and honey, the bowl 
and the three platters, may be all shown to be of most an- 
cient usage. The same may be said of the funereal lamp of 
rough workmanship, and more especially of a little rude idol 
which seems to be one of the Oscillce, a sacrifice to Dis, in 
place of the human victim, and of that sort which Rachel 



211 

stole from her father. " Erat Laban ad tondcndas oves, et 
Rachel furata est idola patris siii,^^ 

As for the bronze utensils, they are also of the highest an- 
tiquity, for brass was the first metal employed ; the fibula 
may have pinned the amianthus or other cloth in which the 
ashes were wrapped, a conjecture more probable from its 
being made without soldering : the elegance of the work- 
manship does not surpass that of the coin of Servius TuUius. 
Tubal Cain was a worker in all works of brass and iron. 
The small wheel, the little lance head, the two hooks, the 
stylus, were part of the sepulchral munera buried witJi the 
dead ; the spoked wheel was as old as the time of Homer ; 
the stylus also having the obliterating part moveable, differs 
from the usual form, and, therefore, is of great antiquity ; 
styli were used at Rome in the time of Porsenna. The 
Doctor Visconti attempts no explanation of the forked instru- 
ment in terra cotta, seen in the first drawing. The mysterious 
figures and points observable in the second drawing, may be 
letters, of which, " according to Pliny ^ the Phenicians were 
the inventors,'''' and were appropriately added to a monument, 
quia monet nos. 

So far the Roman antiquary. It is now our turn to make 
a few remarks. In the first place, then, it should be told 
that in the month of May, following the discovery, the 
ground whence the interments were extracted was covered 
up and shown to no one even upon inquiry. An English na- 
turalist who visited the spot, was unable to discover the pre- 
cise excavation ; and it was the opinion of the same gentle- 
man, that the stone called peperine was, in fact, a tufo gra- 
dually formed by the sand and water crumbling down the de- 
clivity from the summit of the hill, and not a volcanic forma- 
tion, of which he discerned no signs. According to this sup- 
position, there is no necessity for having recourse to the ex- 
treme antiquity assumed by the Doctor Visconti. 

In the second place, although there was only one entire 
vase actually found under the rock, and that vase was of 
much more simple workmanship, and contained none of the 
curious implements of the others, the Signor Carnevali, in 
showing his museum, makes no distinction between the two 

27 



212 

discoveries, but, on the contrary, endeavours, both by his si- 
lence, and, when he is pushed, by his assertions, to confound 
the two, assuming that his whole museum is of equal anti- 
quity with the said Tomasetti vase. 

This remark becomes more important, although more in- 
vidious, when it is told that the articles of the museum are 
for sale, the price of a complete intennent being fifty louis- 
d'ors. This incomprehensible dispersion of such treasures 
does not quite agree with the following innocent conclusion 
with which Visconti perorates, 

, '• Dear Friend, 

'• These monuments arc come into your 
house, 

' Data sunt ipsis quoque fata sepulchris :' 

it seems to me that the most venerable antiquities strive to 
get into your hands, for a few days since you have acquired 
that very ancient ces grave, never yet published, weighing four 
pounds and a half, with an anchor on one side, and a tripod 
on the reverse : perchance it is the destiny of tripods to fall 
into the hands of the best of men. I recommend to you 
these innocent utensils'^ that have lasted for so many years, 
more precious than gold and than silver, since they were 
made in times when, according to Pliny, gold and silver were 
worked not for men, nor even for the gods themselves. 
Take care that they are not broken nor lost, but pass down 
from age to age like the stars. What a number of fine things 
you have — and you may yet possess ! ! but your heart is re- 
fulgent above all. and if your modesty did not snatch the pen 
■ from ni}' hand, how much I should write on that topic : I 
wait then for your other agreeable commands, that I may show 
you by deeds that I am," &c. 

The owner may think he follows his friend's advice, by re- 
taining one or two of the best specimens. 

Thirdly, the museum contains a great variety of articles, 
all of them inferred to have been laid under the rock, but 

^ " Vi raccomando questi innoeenti stoviglie." Lettera, Stc- p. 29. 



213 

for which circumstance there is no gus^rantce, even in the 
affidavits attached to the memoir ; the bronze implements in 
great number and of every shape, are of as elegant and 
elaborate workmanship as is to be found in the specimens 
which are seen in the other museums of Europe, and which 
confessedly belong to a much later age than that assumed by 
Visconti. These bronze implements are frequently discover- 
ed in Italy and Greece, and certainly do not agree with the 
pottery of the large jar, or of the cinerary vase, which is of 
a form much more rude than suits with their shape and make. 
They do however agree well enough with the lamps and 
lacrymatories, which are entirely of the kind discovered 
every day in Greek and Roman burials. It is possible then, 
and, all things considered, probable, that the interments have 
been completed and adjusted since the discovery, and that 
part of the pottery may belong to one period, and the imple- 
ments and the other part of the pottery to another. The 
styli are in great variety, and belonged to a people whose 
alphabet was less rude than the pretended letters on the 
vases — one of the fibulae has not altogether lost the spring. 
It must not be deemed too uncharitable to hesitate before we 
believe that all the articles were found in the Alban vases. 

In the fourth place : the larger pottery is neither Roman 
nor Tuscan. It is not altogether unlike that found in other 
places, and supposed to be the M^ork of the early inhabitants, 
whom it is usual to call Indigenes. 

The most learned Roman writers, Porcius Cato, Caius 
^Sempronius, and others, were of opinion that the Aborigines, 
or, as others called them, the Abcrrigines, were Greeks from 
Achaia, who had migrated to Italy many years before the 
Trojan war : and Dionysius says, that, in that case, they 
were Arcadians who accompanied CEnotrus and Peucetius 
seventeen generations before the Trojan war,* some of whom 
settled in Umbria,t and sent out colonies to the Corniculah 
or Tiburtine mountains.J These Aborigines were joined by 
the Pelasgi, colonists originally from Argos,§ and the two 
nations, about three generations before the Trojan war, wqvq 

* Lib. i. cap. xi. f Ibid. cap. xiii- t IWd. cap. xvi- 

<j Ibid. i. cap. xvii- xviii, xx. 



in possession of all the country from the Tiber to the Liris ;* 
hut the Pelasgi were extinct at the end of that war,t or were 
niiiiiilcd with the Aborii:;incs4 Accordinjijto this account we 
have (Jrecivs settled for a2;es in these hills before the coming 
of TEiieas to Italy ; but that these Greeks were little better 
than barbarians, we may collect from the same authority, 
which tells us that (he Arcadiaijs under Evander, who settled 
on the Palatine hill about sixty years before the Trojan war,§ 
were the first that introduced the Greek letters, Greek 
music, and Greek mannei-s into Italy. || Besides these Greek 
Aborigines, Dionysius seems to talk of certain indigenal na- 
tives who assisted them and the Trojans in founding Alba 
Longa. But who these Indigenes were, except they were 
Tuscans, whom he inclines to believe natives of Italy,** does 
not appear from his account. 

Whoever were tlie makers of the bronze implements, and 
some of the lesser vases, they must be supposed in a state of 
civilization superior to that which Evuuder improved by the 
introduction of Greek arts and letters, and which must have 
belonged to the people living there before the mountain as- 
sumed its present shape. The pottery is sufliciently rude for 
that age, but unless all the articles were found together, and 
in the pretended position, nothing can be argued with safety 
from any of the phenomena. Visconli has gained nothing by 
showing the remote antiquity of similar manufactures. No 
one doubted that fact, but the question evidently reduces it- 
self to the assigning these individual interments to a time and 
nation to which they may be reasonably referred. The 
inquiry undoubtedly is, supposing the whole discovery to be 
established, and that nothing has been interpolated, what 
people ever lived on the Alban hill at any period who might 
have made these vases ? 

Since the return of the writer to England he has heard the 
suggestion of an English antiquary, which is certainly more 
ingenious, and it may be thought more satisfactory than the 
researches of Visconti. That which puzzled the Italian most 

■* Lib. cap. ix, f I!)id. cap. xxiv. 

t Ibid cap. XXX. ^ Ihid. cap. xxxi. 

1! Ibid, cap xxxiii. ** Ibid. cap. xxix. 



215 

has furnished the Englishman with the clue of his conjecture ; 
for those figures which Visconti thinks may be letters, or, 
perhaps, whole words, like the Chinese characters, have in- 
duced him to come to a very different conclusion. 

It will be seen that the root or germ of each of these 
figures is a cross, 

and it is not a little singular that they bear a very close re- 
semblance to a certain Runic character, or magical sign, 
found upon many northern monuments, and which is con- 
sidered as denoting the hammer, or rather the battle-axe, of 
the Scandinavian Thor. The weapon of Thor was figured 
by a cross in very remote ages. When the horn of mead was 
passed to Hako the Good, he made the sign of the cross over 
the vessel. " What !" exclaimed a heathen Earl, " will not 
the king worship our gods '/" " Nay," answered Earl Sigurd, 
*' the king docs as wc do, he blessed the liquor in the name 
of Thor, by making the sign of the hammer over it, before 
he quaffed it." 

The cruciform hammer takes various shapes, of which the 
following are specimens, 

12 3 4 5 

6 7 8 9 

tf^^^ rite 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. On medals, or amulets, in the Museum of 
the Royal Academy at Copenhagen, on all of which is also a, 
figure of Thor riding in his chariot, drawn by his Goats. 

7. On a Runic monument lately discovered at Snoldcliv. 

8. At the end of a line of Ruaie characters engraved on a 
rock in Gothland. 



216 

9. On a Runic nionumeut in the parish of Skeftuna, in 
Upland. 

The similarity between these Runic " hammer crosses," 
and the marks on the vases of Alba Longa, is so great, that 
one might be tempted to maintain their identity ; and there 
is, perhaps, some connexion between both, and the crux ansata 
of the Egyptian monuments. It is certain that the mythology 
of the Asi, although its doctrines may have been clad in 
another guise, was not conlincd to the Scandinavian race. 
And it seems that a character bearing a close affinity to the 
Runic alphabet, was once widely diffused throughout ancient 
Europe. The national enthusiasm of the northern antiqua- 
rians has too often outstripped their judgment ; and many of 
the fanciful analogies of such really excellent authors as Pe- 
rugakioled and Rudbuck, must unfortunately be reckoned 
amongst the dreams of the learned ; yet the truths which 
they have discovered may be easil} separated from their de- 
lusions. Perhaps a Celtic origin may be ascribed to the 
tomb. Of the Celtic Taranus we know little ; yet there are 
Roman inscriptions which show thcit he was worshipped as 
the Roman Jupiter. And it cannot be denied but that the 
deity whom the Romans knew as J ipiter, was the thunderer 
of the Northmen. If the superincumbent body of peperino 
is to be considered as a proof of the remote antiquity of the 
tomb, it must be referred to the Celtic aborigines of Italy ; 
but if the bed can be considered as a formation of compara- 
tively recent date, then the vase may contain the ashes of 
some Gaulish chieftain, or of a heathen Goth or Lombard. 

A character resembling the hauimer of Thor is seen in 
inscriptions discovered in Spain, and which resemble the le- 
gends of the medals which the Spaniards call the " medallas 
dcsconocidas." The same character also lurks in many 
magical books, though under other combinations. A diagram, 
or figure to which it bears some afiinily, is often drawn by 




boys in Italy ; \(5~nT^^Jlhey do not however ascribe any 
meaning to it. It may be considered as a wild speculation 



2 J 7 



to discover the traces of ancient mythology in a school-boy's 
scrawl ; but a remarkable instance can be given of the strange 
stubborn vitality of these vestiges of the superstitions of the 
elder day. We often see English shepherds cutting the pcn- 



falpha )CP^ in the turf, although they never heard of Anti- 

ochus, or saw his coin, and although they are ignorant of its 
mystic power. 

It may linally be observed, that supposing the state of re- 
mote society to have existed, which the Italian antiquary as- 
signs to the hill, and supposing these relics to have been sud- 
denly overwhelmed by the volcano in those unknown ages, 
some other vestiges besides sepulchral de|)Osites would have 
been found to attest the same industry and skill in the arts 
which is manifested in these specimens. 

Notwithstanding however these difficulties, and a division 
of opinion even amongst the Romans, the discovery of the 
Alban vases has been considered of much importance, and 
has transported the antiquaries into ages and amongst nations, 
where, having no guide to lead, and no witnesses to contra- 
dict them, they may form leisurely a world of their own. 



ESSAY 



ON THE 



PRESENT LITERATURE OF ITALY. 



QB 



ESSAY 



PRESENT LITERATURE OF ITALY. 



It is the boast of the Italians, that their literature has flourish- 
ed with unequal, hut uninterrupted brilliancy, from the thir- 
teenth century to the present day. 

The progress of time alone would naturally have produced 
and obliterated many innovations, but the frequent domestic 
revolutions, the repeated irruptions, the arms and the arts of 
strangers, succeeding each other rapidly and imperceptibly, 
and bringing with them new laws, and manners, and opinions, 
have occasioned in Italy more vicissitudes than are to be found 
in the literature of any other country. Thus it is that their 
critics have been able to point out at least ten different epo- 
ques when it has assumed certain characteristics, or, to use a 
single word, a physiognomy, altogether distinct from that of 
any preceding or subsequent period. The average duration 
assigned to each of these epoques, has been laid down at 
about half a century. This is the utmost length that any in- 
dividual taste and mode of writing can be discovered to have 
prevailed. 

The above remark is purposely premised to a short account 
which it is intended to give of the present state of Italian 
literature ; that is to say, of the character of the actual 
epoque, which embraces not only those writers at present in 
existence, but others who have powerfully contributed to form 
the taste and (he tone which will continue to prevail until 



222 

succeeded by another revolution in the republic of letters. 
The latter Italian authors may be expected to form a diversi- 
ty more distinct than those of any other generation, when it 
is recollected, that whilst they wrote, the most extraordinary 
change was prepared and consummated, that had ever affect- 
ed the moral or political world. That the great convulsions 
which shook not only " mightiest monarchies," but also the 
mind of man, in all the countries of Europe, should commu- 
nicate itself to these authors, was inevitable, and will be dis- 
covered in the works, the principles, the character, and the 
estimation, of the most celebrated amongst them, whom it is 
proposed to examine and portray. These authors will be 
their poets ; who are selected, first, because the verse of 
every country is the depository of the language, the taste, 
and the manners, of the times ; secondly, because this is 
found more particularly the case in those nations whose ima- 
gination is their predominant faculty ; and, in the third place, 
because the writers chosen on this occasion, are in part dis- 
tinguished for their compositions in prose. 

This method of illustration might be liable to objections 
in any other country than Italy, where the few men of 
superior genius are separated from the crowd of writers by 
a barrier, which in other nations is rarely visible until poste- 
rity has pronounced the final decision. In Italy the judg- 
ment is in some sort formed and given by their cotempora- 
ries ; and thus, although the struggle to attain the eminence 
may be more serious and protracted, there is less danger of 
future degradation. 

An intimate acquaintance is, however, requisite, to per- 
ceive the difference between the esteemed and the popular 
author : for, otherwise, the above-mentioned singularity of 
Italian literature would be reduced to a shade only of dis. 
tinction from that of other countries. A book may be in the 
hands of all readers, and, during some years, be the study 
and the talk of all. This was the case with the animali par- 
lanti of Casti : but the author had no pretence or right to 
renown. On the other hand, a work which few compara- 
tively shall peruse, because every one cannot understand, 
having obtained the sulHages of those distinguished above the 



223 

common class of readers, acquires for the author an establish- 
ed name, which the people themselves are soon taught to re- 
peat with respect, although entirely ignorant or insensible of 
the specific merit wliich has obtained their applause. Such 
esteem may be compared to the blind honours conferred up- 
on a successful general by the peaceful peasantry, who wish 
no other signal or reason for their shouts than the gazette, 
but it is not less devoted. 

If we endeavour to account for this characteristic in the 
literature of Italy, a partial, or perhaps a sufficing, reason may 
be found, in the difference between countries like England 
and France, and one in which, as there is no single capital, 
there are, comparatively speaking, none of those court in- 
trigues, none of those party passions, none of those fashiona- 
ble cabals and tribunals, which are called into play and em- 
ployed in Paris and London, in deciding the fate of authors. 
It is not that there are no reviews composed by the personal 
enemies or friends of the respective writers ; it is not that 
fashion has no voice ; but the injustice of criticism, or the 
folly of a coterie, which may sway the public opinion for 
awhile in one of the great cities, is inevitably corrected be- 
fore it has run through the mass of disinterested readers, and 
travelled the wide circle of Venice, Bologna, Parma, Verona, 
Milan, Turin, Florence, Naples, and Rome. The same in- 
stances of undeserved neglect and elevation may be found in 
each of those towns, as are the constant complaint through- 
out the vast extent of our own country. But even in any 
single capital the error is more speedily corrected by the 
justice of many rival, or, what is better, impartial neigh- 
bours : and as for the whole of Italy, there cannot be an in- 
stance of that rapid rise, and as sudden precipitation, of 
which we have seen so many examples in our times, ai^.d 
which are to be attributed solely to what we call the fashion 
of the day. You do not even hear the expressions usual 
with us, applied to their national writers. The favourite of 
the to7on would be an absurd solecism in a country where 
there are twenty towns with distinct literary interests and 
pretensions, and where the attachment of one city securer 
the opposition of another; nor, as it has been before men- 



224 

tioned, cau some of the most established authors be said to 
be most in vogue, for they are certainly not the most read. 

A reviewer may irritate the public curiosity, a lady of high 
rank may give a letter of recommendation, but neither the one 
nor the other can raise those phantoms of fashion, who, al- 
though they come and depart like shadows, walk the whole 
round of our united kingdoms, with all the honours and at- 
tributes of substantial existence. 

If, then, we find any living author enjoying very nearly the 
same character in all the provinces of Italy, we can safely 
prognosticate that he has received his final estimation — that 
the just appreciation of his merits alone having raised him, 
will prevent him from ever sinking into total neglect ; that he 
has become one of the national writers, subject, indeed, to 
the fluctuations which, as it has been before remarked, affect 
more especially the literature of Italy, but always to be rank- 
ed amongst the classics of his country. 

The above circumstance furnishes the foreigner with a 
criterion not found in other countries : his survey is facili- 
tated by being contracted to a narrower space ; and when he 
has collected the judgment pronounced upon a very few, he 
need not embarrass himself with the multitude of writers, 
but be assured that he has seized the traits that are at pre- 
sent, and will always be esteemed, characteristic of the lite- 
rature of the age. — Of the writers, then, whose influence 
may be more or less discerned in the formation of the pre- 
sent taste and style, it ma}' be suflicient to enumerate six : 
Melchior Cesarotti, Joseph Parini, Victor Alfieri, Hippolitus 
Pindemonte, Vincent Monti, and Hugo Foscolo. The three 
first are, it is true, no longer alive, but they clearly belong to 
the present day, and are no less to be taken into an actual 
survey than their surviving cotemporaries. There is nothing 
bold in pronouncing that these are decidedly the authors of 
the day •, but it is an endeavour of great difficulty, and no 
little danger, to attempt to show the specific reputation which 
each of them enjoys, and to describe their respective per- 
formances so as to give, on the whole, the acknowledged re- 
sult of their effects upon the opinions of their countrymen. 
Such an effort has, however, been made in the following 



225 



sketches of these distinguished Italians, and so much of their 
biography has been added as appeared serviceable in illustra- 
*^ing the motives that inspired, and the occasions that called 
forth, their various compositions. 



CESAROTTI. 

Melchior Cesarotti was a Paduan, and died, in extreme old 
age, in the year 1808. Bold, fruitful, eloquent, and deeply 
versed in ancient and modern literature, this writer impressed 
his readers with the conviction of his genius : and yet, al- 
though he resembled no one of his predecessors or cotempo- 
raries, there was something more of novelty than originality 
in all his compositions. 

He was brought up in the ecclesiastical seminary of Padua 
which prides itself, and with some justice, on the constancy 
and success with which it has preserved the latinity of the 
purer ages. Indeed the Latin verses of Cesarotti are a proof 
no less of his talents than of the merit of this celebrated insti- 
tution, which, had he continued to pursue the same studies, 
would have produced a new rival of Vida or Fracastorius. 
But he no sooner entered into holy orders and quitted the 
seminary, than he declared war against the poets of antiquity, 
and, more especially, of Greece. An Englishman passing 
through Venice, made him acquainted with Ossian, at that 
time the delight, or at least the wonder, of the transalpine 
critics : and Cesarotti lost no time in translating into blank 
verse, accompanj'ing his version with notes, for the most part, 
against Homer. Ossian transported the Italians, who did 
not, p;enerally speaking, embarrass themselves with the exa- 
mination of the authenticity of the pretended epic. Palmi- 
er! of Placentia, and a few others, ventured to contest the 
antiquity of the poet, but the mass of readers, seduced by the 
authority of Blair, or by their inclination to be pleased with 
their Italian Ossian, were resolved to discover the genuine 
son of Fingal in the spurious offspring of Macpherson. Some 
there were who still defended the heroes of the old school, 



226 

and exclaimed against a precedent fatal to the reputation of 
the ancient models, and to the purity of the modern lan- 
guage. But they read the work, and they admired the transla- 
tor. His verses, in truth, are harmonious, are soft, are imbued 
with a colouring, and breathe an ardent spirit, altogether 
new ; and, with the same materials, he has created a poetry 
that appears written in a metre and a language entirely differ- 
ent from all former specimens. His superiority was evinced 
by the want of success in those who endeavoured to imitate 
him, and whose exaggerations and caricatures were received 
with a ridicule that, by little and little, was attached to their 
model, and partially diminished his fame. The translation 
of Ossian will, however, be always considered as an incon- 
trovertible proof of the genius of Cesarotti, and of the flex- 
ibility of the Italian tongue. 

The reputation into which he thus leapt, as it were, at 
once, encouraged him to still bolder innovations ; and being 
raised to the Greek professorship in his own university of 
Padua, he translated Demosthenes and others of the Greek 
orators, subjoining criticisms full of learning and ingenuity, 
the chief aim of which was to convince the world that the 
veneration with which they read those orators was derived 
more from their antiquity than their intrinsic excellence. 

His next work was a translation of the Iliad. But the 
magic of his Ossian was not transfused into his Italian 
Homer. 

This work is in ten large octavo volumes : each book ig 
translated literally into Italian prose, and almost every pas- 
sage is illustrated by the compared opinions of the critics of 
every nation, from Aristarchus to those of our own days. He 
invariably cites the adversaries of Homer, and often opposes 
them with the partisans of the poet. When he subjoins his 
own decision, it very rarely inclines to the favour of his ori- 
ginal. 

To every book thus translated and commented upon, he 
adds his own poetical version, which, as it was intended to 
correct the errors discovered in the original, changes, omits, 
and transfers from one book to another, whole passages of 
the text. These alterations were so many and so materiaL 



227 

that, in the end', he resolved to change the title of the poem, 
and his Iliad reappeared as the " Death of Hector.^'' 

The bold style, and the harmonious numbers of this ver- 
sion, procured for it many readers, and the work was ap- 
plauded by a public accustomed to admire the author. The 
journalists, who in Italy are frequently without learning, and 
almost always without genius, exalted the translation as an 
extraordinary and successful effort, and the harmony of the 
blank verse of the Death of Hector, became in a short time 
proverbial. But some few literary men of real merit and 
discernment, whose voice it is much more difficult totally to 
suppress in Italy than in anj^ other country, prognosticated 
that the work, at some future day, would be more frequently 
cited than read. Their prophecy is now fully verified. 

In his treatise on the Italian language, Cesarotti stepped 
forward to defend the privilege assumed by certain authors, of 
enriching, by new words and combinations, their native lan- 
guage. His positions are undeniable, his observations pro- 
found, and his deductions exceedingly just. The didactir 
form of his treatise has not deprived it of the elegance ne- 
cessary for the attraction of his readers. The style is pre- 
cise, yet ornamented : and very few authors have so happily 
combined the language of evidence and of metaphysical dis- 
quisition ; very few have made a grammatical discussion so 
alluring, or have arrayed materials so abstruse in eloquence so 
engaging. This is the only work of Cesarotti's that has pre- 
served its original reputation up to this day. The author 
himself abused, however, the privilege which he claimed 
for all writers, and in one of the reviews then most esteemed 
in Italy, it was asserted that the preacher of liberty had 
awakened a spirit of licentiousness, and yet might easily raise 
himself to the dictatorship.* The truth was, that Cesarotti 
was, by his partisans, regarded as infallible, and was the ter- 
ror of his opponents, whose censure was confined to the 
adoption of a practice contrary to his powerful example. 
His pi-ose is endowed with all the qualities that constitute a 

* " Predicando la libertu lettcrai ia aveva suscitato la licenza e pero gli 
fu facile ad erigersi in dittatore" See Annali di scienzee lettcre, An 
ISll.Numero. iii. article on the Odyssey. 

29 



228 

superior writer. The depth is no obstacle to the clearness 
of his ideas ; his manner is free, his phraseology abundant, 
his periods are harmonious. He is lively, yet graceful ; he 
is not so copious as to be tedious, nor so brief as to be ob- 
scure ; he is full of pleasantry, which never degenerates into 
affectation, or is applied to the purposes of malicious con- 
troversy. But those who were obliged, had they not been 
willing, to discover these excellencies in Cesarotti, were re- 
lieved from unqualified admiration, by finding that all of them 
were spoilt and rendered inefficient ; in the first place, by 
the intemperate and systematic use of gallicisms ; and, 
secondly, by their being lost upon discourses either critical 
or metaphysical, and such as could not interest the general 
reader. It was in his power to have furnished a model of the 
oratorical style in his translation of Demosthenes ; but his 
deliberate purpose and all his efforts in this work were directed 
to fritter down his original, and, with this unaccountable de- 
sign, he has affected a style scrupulously Cruscan and pe- 
dantic. 

His Familiar Letters, published after his death, have dis- 
covered to us an excellc^nce and a defect that might not be col- 
lected from his other writings : for they show him to have 
been an indulgent cncourager of the talents of others, as well 
as veiy liberal of his own information ; but at the same time 
he appears so over prodigal of his praises as to incur the sus- 
picion of premedidated flattery. 

His conversation was distinguished by its eloquence and its 
amenit} ; his ideas were rapid and clear, and he gave a cer- 
tain grace and embellishment to the most abstruse arguments. 
He took delight in the education of those who attached them- 
selves to his opinions, and were loyal to their literary faith, 
more especially when he discovered in them any signs of fu- 
ture excellence ; and although he was far from rich, it was 
not unusual with him to receive his pupils as his domestic 
guests. His confidence went so far a^ to intrust them with 
his secrets. Nevertheless, notwithstanding his kind patron- 
age, and their devoted attachment, his most constant disciples 
attained to no reputation : either because imitation is, in it- 
self, incapable of rising above mediocrity, or because tliere 



229 

was in the system of this great writer something rather per- 
nicious than conducive to success. This circumstance, so 
painful for the head of a sect, did not, however, sour his 
temper, or diminish his regard. He was the same affection- 
ate noble-minded man to the last, and his friends had just rea- 
son to praise him and to lament his 'loss. 

His political conduct was not distinguished for its constancy. 
The revolution found him more than a sexagenary — devoted 
to literary pursuits — a priest — and one who had never wan- 
dered beyond the narrow confines of his native country, which 
for more than a century had enjoyed the most profound 
calm. 

Buonaparte had read and re-read the Italian Ossian, and at 
his first occupation of Padua he eagerly sent for Cesarotti, 
and named him one of the chiefs of the new government. 
Our author took that opportunity of publishing a small trea- 
tise on the rights and freedom of mankind, on the duties of 
the magistrate, and the character of the people. Three or 
four years afterwards the chances of war brought him into the 
hands of the Riissians and the Austrians, and he was forced^ 
if such an expression may be applied to such an exertion, to 
compose a short poem in praise of the victorious potentates. 

Finally, when Buonaparte had become Emperor, and was 
again master of the Venetian states, he created Cesarotti a 
knight commander of one of his orders, assigning to him, at 
the same time, a pension, which was meant to ensure his 
gratitude and his praise. Napoleon was not mistaken ; his 
pensioner published his poem, called Pronea, or Providence, 
a most extravagant performance, where the style of Lucan, 
of Ossian, and of Claudian bewilders the reader, already 
lost amidst the mazes of metaphysics and of theological 
allegory. The work, from the first to the last page, was such 
as might be expected from a systematic innovator, from a 
devotee trembling on the brink of the grave, and from a poet 
who wrote by commission. 

He survived this effort too short a time to enjoy his pension, 
but not before his poem had been consigned to oblivion. 

Had this writer been born in other times ; had he expanded 
his ideas, and escaped from the circle of his own metaphysi- 



230 

eal speculations, by visiting other countries and mixing witli 
other minds ; had he encountered greater obstacles in his as- 
cent to fame ; but, above all, had he devoted himself to 
original composition, and made a more judicious use of his 
acquaintance with foreign literature, it is probable that 
Cesarotti would have taken a prominent place amongst the 
classical authors of his country. As it is, the Italians accuse 
his system, and accuse his example ; but whilst they pro- 
nounce both the one and the other to have been highly pre- 
judicial to his native literature, they are all willing to allow 
that he was possessed of great natural ability. 

Angelo Mazza, the school-felloAv and the friend of Cesarotti, 
may be fairly subjoined to a mention of that poet. He is 
still alive, and enjo3s a green old age at Parma. His first 
essay was made in the year 1764, when he translated the 
Pleasures of the Imagination, and convinced the Italians that 
tlic compressed style of Dante was capable of being applied 
Ki their blank verse, which as yet was little more than a 
string of sonorous syllables. 

The poetry published by him in a maturcr age consists in 
great part of lyrical pieces on Harmony. They are to be 
found in two small volumes ; and Saint Cecilia is the inspirer 
and patroness of two of his best odes. It was not likely that 
be should equal the invention of Dryden ; he wisely, there- 
fore, was contented with trying a version of that poet, and 
his translation of that lyrical masterpiece has the merit of 
having extended the fame of our laureate to every corner of 
Italy. 

Tlic imitations, and even the translations of Mazza, have 
a certain air of originality impressed not only on their style, 
which is extremel}^ energetic, but even on the ideas which 
appear generally drawn from a metaphysical turn of mind,. 
He excels much in the poetical array of abstract images, and 
what the Theodicea of Leibnitz is in prose, he sometimes 
contrives to execute in verse. In spite, however, of the in- 
spired tone of some of his verses on the Universe, and the 
wisdom of the Creator, displayed, according to Mazza, in 
the harmony of all things, and notwithstanding he has re- 
presented this same harmony under aspects entirely new and 



231 

beautiful, the poet has failed no less than all othei-s who have 
attempted to embellish these sacred subjects, in keeping alive 
the interest of his reader, and has succeeded only in attracts 
ing the admiration of those who are delighted to see objections 
encountered and ditliculties overcome. His odes are com- 
posed of stanzas, the melody of which is often sacrificed to 
what the musicians call contrapunto, which is calculated to 
surprise more than please, and he has even adopted those 
difficult rhymes which the Italians call sdnicciole, or slippery, 
and which not only lengthen the eleven syllabled verse into 
twelve syllables, but change the position of the accent, as 
appears from the following specimen extracted from the same 
Mazza : 

A me le voci di concciito {^ravicle, 
A me la forme dello stil Pindanco, 
Date a me I'ispirata arpu di Davide. 

The only work of Mazza which has been often printed, 
and has hit the taste of the Italians, is a poem in thirty pages, 
addressed to Cesarotti, in which he gives a masterly sketch 
of the great poets of every nation, and has placed the Eng- 
lish on a distinguished eminence amongst the immortal 
brotherhood. It is only the women, who aifect our endemic 
melancholy, and the younger readers, who occasion the im- 
mense demand for Young's Night Thoughts, translated as they 
are into poor verse, or ampullatcd prose ; for the more en- 
hghtened Itahans study Milton and Shakspeare. 

Mazza is remarkable for the candour with which he has 
treated his cotemporaries, even those attached to a system 
totally different from his own. This discretion, however, 
has not silenced the voice of criticism, and in spite of his 
own reserve, his partisans and his opponents have carried on 
a war of words, which is seldom to be equalled by English 
polemics, and is outrageous even in a country distinguished 
by the pedantry, the fury, and the illiberality of its literary 
quarrels. The foreigners who have by turns usurped the 
Italian provinces, have extended their claims to all the pro- 
ductions of that fruitful soil : not only the corn, and the wine, 
and the oil are put in requisition, but the tythe of the poetry 
is claimed by the conquerors. Mazza, in his quality of per- 



232 

petual secretary of Uio acatlt^my of Parma, has composed the 
usual complimentary sonnets for the successive government» 
of his country, but he has cautiously avoided all political 
topics, and left his opinion still unconiprlsed and unknown. 

It is generally reported that he has long finished, although 
he Uas never vontur(>d to publish, a translalion of INiular. 
The Italians are impatieni, but tlu-y arc also fearful, I'oi- the 
result. The Creek poet has had many happy imitators in 
this coiuitry,and especially in the days of Chiabrcia. of Fili- 
caja, of Menzini, and of (Jiiidi ; but his translators have failed 
here no less than in all other tounlries. Mazza, besides his 
poetical re|)utation, has tluMharai ter of a scholar pritfoundly 
v<:rsed in ancient and modern languages, and the accjuisition 
of the latter is the mon; singular, as he has never been out of 
Italy, and indeed has seldom ipiitted his native town. 

JOSKIMI I'ARINI. 

I'arini was almost the only Italian poet of the last century 
who dared to conceive, and certainly he was the only one 
who was capable of completing the proj(>ct of directing the; 
ellbrts of his art towards tlu> impiovenuMit of his lellow-citi- 
zcns. If by moralizing his song, he has failed to correct his 
cotemporarios, h(^ has, however, accpiired a nputation much 
more valuable than can be the shiiri' of those whose talents 
are devoted solely to the anuiscinent of the public. 

His parents were peasants on th(> borders of the lake Pusi- 
ano, the iMipilis of Pliny, about tAveuly miles to tin- north of 
Milan. It is usual in Italy to choose from the poorest classes 
thos(» destined to supply tlu> humblest and most laborious duties 
in the ( hurch, whilst the valuabl(> beiulices are reserved tbrthe 
younger sons of noble families. When one of these children 
of poverty shows signs of suptjrior talent, the monks endea- 
vour to attach him to their community, and the charity of the 
bishop provides him a gratuitous education. In this way 
Parini was sent to study in the capital of Austrian Lombardy. 
lie applied to his scholastic pursuits until nearly his twentieth 
year, when his constitution, feebh^ from the beginning, almost 
tunk luuler an attack which took away the use of his lower 



233 

limbs, find occasioned his rolrcat from the scnninaryin a con- 
dition thill secnx'd to d('|)iivt; him of all hopes of aspiring 
even to a country curacy. All that metlical care, all that time 
could do for the improvement of his lu-alth, from his youth to 
the day of his death, harely enahhid him to crawl along by 
the help of a stick, or by leaniiii^ on the arm of a friend. 

Some of the verses published in his posthumous works, 
are painftdly affecting, from the picture which they afford of 
the extr(nue indigem-e in which lie languished even afler he. 
had arrived at yc^arsof maturity. J lis whole hvelihood, and 
that of an aged motlier, were derived from composing arti- 
cles for a m!wspap(M-. 1 h; speaks thus in requesting an inti- 
mate friend to send him relief: 

La mia povera vuidrc non ha pant 
Se non da mc, e.d io non ho dannro 
Da mantenerla alnieno prr domane.* 

He had alnady publisluid some; poetry wliich luid dropl 
aft<:r the partial applauses that usually succecni the first essays 
of every autlior, that are not bad enough for ridicule, nor 
good enough for envy. l*arini would never allow th<!S(; 
specimens to Ik; reprintcid. It was not mitil his thirty-liftii 
year fhal h( ))ii!»lished the first canto of llial |)oem, which 
rendcrc.d him formidable to tlu; most powerful f"amili(!s around 
him, and established him in the eyes of the literary worltl as 
th<: f()uii(l<M- of a new school in poedy. This |)o<.'m is calhul 
the Day (// Giorno), and is dividitd into four cantos — Morning 
(M(Ulino) ; Noon {Mrriffgio) ', Evening (Vespro) ] and Night 
(^J^oflr) — and it contains a satiriciil d(;scri()tion of the manner 
in which 1lic> llalian nobles contrive to waste away the four 
and twenty hours of an existence; for the most [lart truly 
despicable. l)(;fore we enter into an examination of this 
poem, a word or two may Ix; requisite on Ihe author. The 
literary history of every nation abounds with instances of the 
distresses and ill success of flios<; (uidowed with the finest 
abilities ; and it is a painful truth, that the union of tlu; se- 
verest virtue with those abilities is no shield against the ar- 
rows of Fortune. 

* Piuini, Opcr. vol. iii. 



234 

The case of Parini, however, is not to be confounded with 
these examples. Inlirm, indigent, without the advantage of 
a regular education, struggling against the obscurity of his 
birth, and the disgrace of poverty, he lived in a city where 
the nobles are not only more rich, but are perhaps more 
haughty and more ignorant than in any other town in Italy. 
At that time they were important from their influence, direct 
and indirect, and formidable from the impunity with which 
they could give a loose to their revenge. 

It is universally known, that before the revolution the Ita- 
lian nobles enjoyed a sort of prescriptive right of employing 
assassins ; but it is more wonderful still, that at this day, and 
in the face of the new noblesse, created by Buonaparte, there 
is not a single instance of the daughter or wife of.any but 
those in possession of ancient titles being admitted to the 
ball-room or drawing-room of a Milanese Patrician. The 
same absurd distinction prevails at Turin. At Venice, at 
Bologna, at Florence, at Rome, the exclusion is not so strictly 
observed, and a few young females of the middling ranks are 
allowed to stand in the same dance with the daughters of 
barons and of counts. 

Such was the state of society- that Parini undertook to cor- 
rect. And this difficult, this dangerous task he adventured 
upon, by boldly reproaching the nobles with their vices and 
tlrcir crimes. He raised his own reputation by the depression 
of a whole order, which, in spite of their being essentially 
more despicable than in any other country of Europe, were, 
owing to the ignorance and extreme poverty of the lower 
classes, in fact more respectable. The care taken by Parini 
to conceal his personal allusions, could not prevent the dis- 
covery that his portraits were all drawn from living charac- 
ters ; and if his originals recognised their likeness only now 
and then, the public were never mistaken. There was not a 
single Milanese who did not see, in the chief personage of 
the poem, the Prince Belgiojoso, of the reigning family of 
Este, the eldest brotlier of the Field Marshal of the same 
name, who was Austrian Ambassador at our court, and Go- 
vernor of the Low Countries. 

It should be here observed, to the honour of Parini, and 



235 

indeed of the Italian authors in general, that, let a work be 
ever so much admired, it never brings the writer money 
enough to defray the expense of the first edition. There is 
but a very limited number of readers in Italy ; and though a 
work may receive from (heir applause a character which se- 
cures the esteem of the whole nation, a multitude of pur- 
chasers, such as wc are accustomed to, is not to be procured 
by any merit, or any accident. Twelve hundred names to a 
subscription are reckoned an extraordinary instance of pubhc 
patronage, and it is hazardous to demand more than three 
francs (half a crown) for any new production in a single vo- 
lume under the quarto size. The copyright law can hardly 
exist in a country divided into so many small governments, 
and the booksellers find it no difficult matter to elude the 
prosecutions, which must be transferred from one stale to 
another before they can ^^e brought before any competent 
tribunal. After the revolution, an effort was made to correct 
this abuse ; but it was found almost impossible to change the 
practice of a whole class of tradesmen, long habituated to 
consider all literary profits their own, and to esteem every 
mercenary art a fair branch of speculation. 

Those accustomed to the liberality of English publishers, 
which affords a decent subsistence to those whose talents and 
whose fame do not rise above mediocrity, will liardly beiieve 
that the best authors in Italy think themselves foriunate if 
they find a publisher to take the expense of printing off their 
hands. In that country the booksellers are also printers, and 
have it in their power to multiply indetiniteiy the copies of 
any edition, without accounting for the accruing profits. The 
swearing of the printer, and our other protections of literary 
property, are unpractised and unknown. 

Alfieri, in a sort of a preface, in verse, prefixed to the se- 
cond edition of his tragedies, complains that his eagerness for 
renown has cost him a por'ion of his health, of his mtellects, 
of his peace of mind, and, above all, of his fortune ; the lat- 
fer having been sacrificed to the rapacity of the bookseller. 

Profonder tutto in linde stampe il mio, 
S p$r ehe altri mi compri, accattar io : 
30 



236 

Sofrirt it revisor the Vuomo siraiia ^ ** 

Appiccicanni i masnadier libraj 
Che a crcdenza riccvon cfan grazia 
JVV' metallo perfoglio rendon mai. 

There were, however, certain coincidences favourable to 
the bold project of Parini. A sort of colony of French liln- 
cjclopedists had settled at Milan, and four or five Patricians 
having taken to reading, dared also to disseminate in writing 
the principles of the approaching revolution. The Marquis 
Bcccaria had recently published his work on Crimes and Pun- 
ishments, which effected an important change in the criminal 
jurispiudence of his oavu country, and extended its beneficial 
inducnce to many other nations, where torture prevailed, and 
was consequently abolished. Joseph II. had himself began 
those innovations, which ended by diminishing the prepon- 
derating influence of the Lombaiid nobles. Count Firmian, 
the governor of those provinces, when questioned as to the 
publication of the poem of Parini, exclaimed, " Let him 
make iiaste ; we want it mightily!" — Qu'il se hate, nous en 
ttvons une necessite extreme. 

In addition to such a powerful ally, Parini was backed by 
all the middling classes of society, which, generally speaking, 
are certainly the most moral and the most enlightened por- 
tion of civili/cd mankind. Some individuals amongst them 
having quarrelled with the church-rectors of certain collegiate 
establishments, found in Parini a champion who overwhelmed 
their adversaries with a few strokes of his pen. Parini publish- 
ed a pamphlet on that occasion, which, in the cooler hours of 
revision, appeared to him too violent, and he would not suffer 
it to proceed to a second edition : but this work introduced 
him to notice before the publication of his poem, and those 
whose cause he had advocated, continued his friends to the 
last moments of his melancholy existence. 

The Da>/ is in one continued strain of irony, from the first 
line to the Inst. The author assumes the character of precep- 
tor to a nobleman, and teaches him how to devote his morn- 
ing to the toilette, his noon to the serious occupations of the 
table, his afternoon to the public walks, and his night to the 
Conversazio)ii. The most frivolous actions, the most contempti- 



237 

ble vices, the most ridiculous follies, and sometimes the most 
atrocious crimes, are detailed with minuteness, and always 
with the pretext of recommendation. The " Advice to Ser- 
vants" is carried into the highest departments of society, and 
a magnificence of diction and of images is tastefully employ- 
ed, instead of the familiar tone of Swift, to portray the lux- 
ury and the pride which the Italian nobility carefully wrap 
round the naked wretchedness of their hearts. 

The variety of the objects, and the numerous portraits of 
individuals, all in the higher classes of every age and sex, 
engage the attention, whilst the faithful and fine-spun descrip- 
tion of manners keeps alive the curiosity of the reader. 
The poet has shown no little address in contrasting the ef- 
feminacy of the actual race of nobles, and the industry and 
the courage of their ancestors, who, in the middle ages, re- 
stored the civilization of the South, and, with unshaken con- 
stancy, defended the liberties of the Italian republics. This 
contrast naturally transported Parini to the days of Romance; 
and the wild life of the military patricians, the old castles, 
and the glittering arms of the half barbarous ages, were a 
happy relief for the silken barons, the palaces, and the em- 
broidered suits of his cotemporaries, whom it was necessary 
to amuse in order to instruct. The ruins of dungeons and 
towers neglected by the heirs of those who raised them, en- 
abled the poet to employ his fancy in restoring them to their 
ancient splendour, and he thus threw in those sombre shades 
and colourings which the Germans afltn-wards appropriated to 
themselves, and were believed to have formed a new and na- 
tional school of poetic fiction. 

With this mixture of roinance Parini also recurred <o the 
characters and allegories of the old mythology, the favourite 
resource of the Italians, who still think it the only fabulous 
system whose images combine the truth of real nature with 
tiie charms of ideal grace. But even in this department of 
his art, which an Englishman would abandon as hopeless, our 
author contrived to give an air of reality to his classical fables, 
by applying them to the practices and principles of his own 
times. Thus it is that his Cupid and Hymen arc introduced. 
They are engaged in a war to all appearance intenninable. 



238 

but they agree to treat, and peace is made on condition that 
Cupid shall reign all day, and Hymen all night. An English 
reader would not be much struck with this invention; but who- 
ever meets a handsome Italian matron, decently pacing be- 
tween her husband and her Cavalier Servente, will instantly 
remember the Love and Hymen of Parini, and the graceful 
solemn air with which his verses march majestically along. 

Our own nation can hardly have a just idea of this species 
of poetry. The Italians who admire it the most compare it 
to the Georgics ; and the Giorno has certainly more than one 
property in common with the poem of Virgil. Both the one and 
the other arc employed in dignifying topics essentially common 
and familiar. Both one and the other display their poetical vi- 
gour in frequent episodes ; and the Italian perhaps has gone less 
Out of his way for those embellishments than the Latin poet. 
It was the misfortune, not the fault, of Parini, that he could 
not employ the hexametral structure ; aiid owing, partly to 
the same defect of language, and partly, perhaps, to real in- 
feriority, he was not able to adorn every picture with those 
images, nor lend to every word that harmony, which are the 
constituent excellence of Virgil. If Parini's style does not 
rival that of Virgil, it is some comfort for the Italians to 
think, that their poet has approached that great master nearer 
than any other follower. 

" longo sed proximus intervallo." 



His countrymen are, besides, hardy enough to suppose, that 
in the grouping, in the invention, in the connexion of all 
the parts with the whole, the pictures of the Giorno are supe- 
rior to those of the Georgics. It is not, certainly, too ha- 
zardous to assert, that no one can learn farming from the 
verses of Virgil, but that much instruction may be gained by 
avoiding the follies which characterize the hero of Parini. 
If the Sopha of Cowper were a little more varied, and tinc- 
tured with satire, it would, in the domestic details, and the 
easy flowing versification, be a tolerable counterpart of the 
Giorno — at least we cannot furnish a stronger resemblance. 

The versification of Parini is not altogether unlike the 
Latin, and is entirely different from that of the other authors 



239 

who in this age particularly distinguished themselves by try- 
ing every variety with which they could rival each other, 
and improve the structure of Italian verse. This has been 
already remarked in the articles on Cesarotti and Mazza, and 
the same truth will be deduced from the subsequent notices 
of this essay. The imagery, the expressions, the numbers, 
the very words of Parini, have a certain solemnity which 
they never altogether lay aside ; and the melody and change 
of tone so conspicuous in the soft and varied descriptions of 
the Greek and Latin epics, are, in the verses of the Italian 
poet, not so much recognised at once, as they are imper- 
ceptibly felt by the reader. 

It may be sufficient to give a short example of the distinc- 
tion here alluded to. The poet conducts his hero to the 
public walks : the time chosen is the night-fall : he leaves 
his mistress alone in her carriage, and slipping through the 
crowd, steals quietly into the carriage of another lady, who 
has also been abandoned by her Cavalier. Such a scene re- 
quired some delicacy to portray. A loose or a careless poet 
would hardly steer clear of indecent images : but Parini is 
not less adroit with his carriage and his night, than is Virgil 
with the cave and the storm, that were so fatal to the hap- 
piness of Dido. He invokes the goddess of Darkness with 
his usual irony, and prays her to arrest her progress, that he 
may contemplate at leisure the exploits of his chosen hero, 

" Ma la Notte segue 

Sue leggi inviolabili, e declina 

Con tacit' ombra sopra 1' emispero; 

E il rugiadoso pife lenta movendo, 

Rimescola i color varj, infiniti, 

E via glisgombra con 1' immenso lembo 

Di cosa in cosa : e suora de la moite 

\Jn aspetto indistinto, un solo volto, 

Al suolo a i vcgetanti a gli animali 

A i grandi ed a la plebe equa perniette ; 

E i nudi insieme e li dipinti visi 

Delle belle confonde, e i cenci, e 1' oro : 

Ne vcder mi concede all' aer cieco 

Qual de cocclij si parta o qual rimanga 

Solo air ombre segrete : e a me di mano 

Tolto il penello, il mio Signore avvolge 

Per cntro al tenebroso uraido velo." 



240 

Nevertheless it is evident that this kind of poetry, beauti- 
ful as it is, and recalling to us some of the most delicate pas- 
sages of the Rape of the Lock, is addressed rather to the ima- 
gination than to the heart. Yet Parini has occasionally 
proved himself a master of the pathetic, and he calls forth 
tears of regret when he shows us a servant, after twenty 
years of faithful attachment, dismissed, persecuted, and re- 
duced to beggary, for no other oife nee than slightly beating 
a favourite dog that had bit him. We may be here reminded 
of some of the efforts of Mr. Crabbe, when he is most harmo- 
nious and most tender: but the Italian awakes, by the same 
picture, feelings more allied to indignation than to pity, and 
his sleepless irony somewhat fatigues the attention, and helps 
to counteract the general effect. The perpetual aggrandize- 
ment and decoration of objects, in themselves little and mean, 
display a curious felicity, and succeed in exciting the pro- 
posed ridicule ; but the effect diminishes as the effort is con- 
tinued, and concludes in being mistaken for affectation. A 
single pebble set tastefully in diamonds may amuse the spec- 
tator, but a whole cabinet of such curiosities would hardly be 
worth attention or examination. 

Another deficiency will be apparent to the foreign reader 
of Parini. The poet never saw any other city than Milan. 
His infirmities and his poverty confined him entirely at home. 
It was thus impossible that he should not give too much im- 
portance to objects which those accustomed to a wider sphere 
of action would consider unworthy of regard. It was natural, 
also, for the same reason, that his style, formed altogether on 
the classical writers, should occasionally degenerate into pe- 
dantry. • What could be performed by an exquisite and cul- 
tivated taste has been done by Parini, but he is not to be 
classed with the inspired poets. The great defect of the 
Giorno is the little interest excited by the hero of the poem, 
who is contemptible from his entrance to his exit. Yet even 
this capital objection seldom occurs to those absorbed in ad- 
miration at the effect produced by the address and execution 
of tlic author. 

The great merit of Parini lies in the dignity, not only of his 
style, but of Ins conduct La wielding the weapons of satire. — 



24) 

His poem has nothing of that impotent rage against the pow. 
€rful, of that invidious detraction of the wealthy, of that plain- 
tive accusation against patronage and ingratitude, which have 
been the favourite topics of all satirists, from Horace to the 
English Imitator of Juvenal. The vices of the great he con- 
templates with a pity worthy the noblest of their own order ; 
he does not indulge himself with epigrams ; he never degene- 
rates into obscenity ; he will not condescend to be the buf- 
foon, nor to administer to the bad passions of the multitude. 

There is a grandeur in the expression of his censures which 
casts, as it were, a shield between those whom he condemns, 
and the anger and hatred of the people. He respects human 
nature ; he is not misanthropic ; and he takes care to attri- 
bute the depravity of the nobles to their total idleness. — 
Throughout his whole satire he shows himself bent upon the 
generous project of repairing the disgrace of his country, and 
never incurs the suspicion that he would only satisfy his pri- 
vate animosities. 

Soon after the appearance of this poem, all those of easy 
circumstances in the middle classes, and the few patricians 
who, being addicted to literary pursuits, were the natural op- 
ponents of the great body of the nobles, interested themselves 
with the Austrian government in providing for Parini. They 
persuaded that government to found a professorship of elo- 
quence expressly for their favourite, who justified the high ex- 
pectations entertained of him ; and, by his efforts in his new 
capacity, gave a stability to his rising reputation. He was 
indeed by nature qualified more than any one, perhaps, of his 
cotemporaries, to give lessons on the helhs lettres, and to per- 
form that task in a way totally different from that usually em- 
ployed in the Italian schools. There was a gravity, and at 
the same time an ease, in his eloquence, which enabled him 
to cite the examples of former great writers with a powerful 
effect, and to illustrate them with new and brilliant observa- 
tions. He applied the various theories of the sublime and 
beautiful not only to the productions of the pen, but to all 
the creations of nature ; and many of his cotemporaries, al-. 
ready in possession of literary renown, were not ashamed to 
put themselves t© the school of Parini. Those persons, and 



242 

readers in general, were perhaps surprised to find, when they 
came to peruse his dissertations in print, that the ideas, al- 
though just, were seldom very profound : that a clear method, 
a chaste style, and an ingenious view of the subject, were 
their chief merit ; but that the flow of words, the soul, the fire 
of expression and sentiment, had vanished with the delivery, 
and that the genius, and even the polished correctness of the 
poet, were not to be recognised in the discourses of the rheto- 
rician. 

Parini was so painfully scrupulous, and at the same time so 
idle a writer, that he never published more than the two first 
cantos of his poem, the whole of which does not amount to 
four thousand lines. The two last cantos were published 
after his death, and they contain several half-finished verses, a 
great many variations, and two large chasms, which a long life 
was, it seems, too short to enable him to fill up to his satisfac- 
tion. This severity of taste he applied to others as well as to 
himself; and it was his favourite expression, when speaking 
even of Virgil and Horace, " We should study them in those 
passages where they are not mortal men like ourselves. "^^ From 
such a master the youth of Milan imbibed a delicacy of taste 
bordering upon affectation, and these scruples were easily 
cherished in a people less given to poetry than any other of 
the inhabitants of Italy. Indeed Parini himself is the only dis- 
tinguished poet that this city has produced from the revival of 
letters to the present day. 

In addition to this individual propensity, it may be remark- 
ed, that a severity of judgment prevails more or less with all 
the Italians, who arc, as it were, saturated with poetry, and 
are besides accustomed to disregard the matter in comparison 
with the manner of metrical expression — a feeling deducible 
trom the surpassing variety and beauty and strength of their 
language. Add to this, that they judge all modern composi- 
tions with a reference to their most ancient poets, whom they 
worship with a veneration almost superstitious. 

Parini was not remarkable for his erudition, and knew but 
very little Greek. He could not write Latin, but he felt all 
the beauties of the Roman writers, and made them percepti- 
ble to his audience. His favourite Itahan studies were 



243 

Dante, Ariosto, and the Aminta of Tasso 5 yet he imitated 
none of these great writers ; and it may be said of him as of 
our own Swift, that it would be difiicult to point out a single 
idea that he has borrowed from his predecessors. He may be 
called an imitator, inasmuch as he sedulously traced back to 
their great constituent causes the effects produced by the old 
writers, and then made use of his discovery ; but his manner 
is altogether his own ; is inspired by his own genius, and at- 
tempered by his own inexorable taste. He followed the rule 
of Horace, which inculcates the sacrifice of every thought, 
however noble, which is found incapable of embellishment ; 
and he renounced the adoption of those beauties, which vulgar 
readers are apt to call natural, but which in fact are obvious 
and common-place. 

Treatises upon the fine arts, and more particularly the livei 
of celebrated artists, were his favourite and constant study. 
Amongst the few books which he possessed at the time of his 
death, his executors found two copies of VasarPs Biography, 
both of them worn away by repeated perusal. He never ap- 
plied either to drawing or to music, but he was perfectly well 
acquainted with the theory, and sensible to the charms, of 
both, and the most celebrated professors had frequent re- 
course to his advice. His posthumous works furnish us Avith 
the ideas, the composition, and even the details of several 
pictures which he had communicated to distinguished artists, 
and which are now to be seen, faithfully executed according 
to his directions, in many of the palaces at Milan. Parini 
employed, indeed, his whole life in carrying into practice the 
maxim that poetry should be painting ; for, with the exception 
of Dante, the other Italian poets have only occasional pic- 
tures : all the rest is but description. Parini effected by dint 
of meditation that which was the natural production of the 
wonderful genius of Dante, and it would be difficult to point 
out ten consecutive lines in the poem of the Milanese from 
which a painter might not extract a complete picture, with all 
the requisite varieties of attitude and expression. 

Parini also published in his lifetime about twenty odes, of 
which the Italians consider ybwr as inimitable, six or seven of 
the others tolerable, and the remainder absolutely bad. The 

31 



244 

whole of them bear a nearer resemblance to those of Horace 
than of Pindar, but neither of them has a shadow of likeness 
with the lyric poetry of Petrarch, or of Chiabrera, or of Guidi. 
Not only the style, but even the language appears quite differ- 
ent. It is his constant practice here, as in the Giorno, to 
avoid detailed descriptions, and to throw out his images in 
mass and at one stroke of his pencil. He has also the same 
object in view; namely, the correction of national manners. 

The ode addressed to a young woman of eighteen, who had 
adopted the Parisian fashion, then called " robe a la guillo- 
tine,^'' is written in a style more than usually intelligible for a 
foreign reader. The beauty and the innocence of the maiden 
are presented under colours that contrast admirably with the 
depravity of mind and manners which the poet foresees must 
be the consequence of imitating so vile an example. 

" Da scellerata scure 
Tolto e quel nome ; infamia 
Del secolo spietato 
E die funesti aiigurii 
Al femmiiiile oniato 

E con le truci Eumenidi 
Le care Grazie avvinse 

E di crudele immagine 
La tua bellezza tiiisc. 

He digresses to the history of the ancient Roman females, 
from the earliest times to those days of cruelty and corruption 
when they thronged the gladiatorial shows, and a Vestal gave 
the signal for the slaughter. 

Potfe all' alte patrizie 
Come alia plebe oscura 
Giocoso dar solletico 
La soffrente natina. 

Che piii? Baccanti e cupide 
D'abbomrainando aspetto 
Sol dair uman peiicolo 
Acuto ebber diietto, 

E da i gradi e da i circoli 
Co' moti e con le voci 
Di gia niaschili, applausero 
A i duellanti atroci : 



245 

Creando a sfe delizia 
E de le membra sparte, 
E de gli estremi aneliti, 
E del moiir con arte. 

The poet has contrived that the progress of his ideas shall 
correspond with the gradual corruption with which the impru- 
dent imitation of novelty seduces by httle and little the incau- 
tious female into the worst practices of debauchery. 

The biographer of Parini, who has furnished the greater 
portion of the preceding account, has been accused of swell- 
ing out the works of his author into six volumes, although 
those published during his lifetime scarcely occupy two hun- 
dred pages.* 

It may be added, that of all the posthumous works, the two 
last cantos of his Giorno is the only one which deserved to be 
rescued from that obscurity to which they had been consigned 
by their scrupulous author. 

Not that they are deficient in affording instruction to those 
v,'ho delight in the study of human nature, and love to watch 
the developement of the mind. The odes which are reckon- 
ed Parini's best were composed in his old age ; and such of 
the verses as appear in their first form, and as were not in- 
tended for pubhcation, are remarkable chiefly for their good 
sense, and for their unaflfected taste. But their imagery is. 
not abundant ; their style has little warmth, and the turns are 
common-place and trite. They enable us then to form some 
conception of the time and thought employed in the elevation 
and constant support of a style which frequently borders upon 
sublimity. His commerce with mankind laid open to him the 
most secret recesses of the heart, and furnished him with that 
acquaintance with our natural foibles of which he discovers 
so intimate a knowledge in his principal poem, and in his 
odes. In the same manner his continued and minute con- 
templation of nature in all her varieties furnished him with 
the beauties necessary for his poetical purposes, and enabled 
him to recognise their recurrence in the old classical writers, 
and to demonstrate their existence to others. 

» See— Opcre di Giuseppe Parini, publicate ed illustrate da Francesco 
Reina, vol. vi. in 8vo. Milano, 1801. 



240 

The result of study and cultivation was never more con- 
spicuous than in the example of Parini. It had all the ap- 
pearance, and produced all the effects of genius : and yet his 
was, doubtless, one of those minds rather capable of culture, 
tlian naturally fruitful. The soil might have brought forth 
none but barren plants, had not care, and labour, and pa- 
tience, qualified it to receive the seed, and supply the nou- 
rishment of the richest productions. 

The Milanese nobles did not dare to revenge themselves 
openly for the boldness of Parini. There is a story current 
of an attempt to assassinate him, but this, perhaps, is an in- 
vention suggested by the ancient manners of Italy. His 
enemies took another course. The emoluments of his pro- 
fessorship amotmted only to 3000 francs, a little more than 
one hundred pounds a year. 

Leopold II., on a visit to Milan, was struck with the phy- 
siognomy of an old man, lame, and moving slowly along, but 
with an air of dignity. He asked his name, and being told 
that it was Parini, ordered the municipal council to increase 
his pension sufficiently to enable him to keep a small carriage. 
But the verbal command of a foreign monarch is seldom 
strictly obeyed in distant provinces, where the nobles have 
an interest or a will distinct from their duty. Parini con- 
tinued without any other prop than his stick. The poet 
whom the Milanese pointed out to strangers as the pride and 
glory of their city, was often pushed into the dirt, and was 
repeatedly near being run over by the carriages, in streets 
where there is no pavement for foot passengers. 

In an ode, which he calls the Caduta, the Fall, he describes 
the accidents which happened to him in rainy and foggy 
days ; and although this production is not in the first rank of 
his poetry, it can never be perused without delight, nor be 
quoted without exciting our admiration at the profound pathos, 
the honest pride, and the philosophy with which it abounds. 

The French, on their arrival in Italy, soon understood the 
active part which the literary classes had played in the revo- 
lution. They employed many of these individuals, and 
amongst others Parini, who found himself all at once amongst 
the chiefs of the republican government, with no other 



247 

qualification or capital for such an elevation, than what was 
derived from a love of liberty, a habit of speaking the truth, 
an unbending character, and a total disregard of all selfish in- 
terests. He felt the embarrassment of his situation, and hav- 
ing often spoken harshly to the French generals, it was not 
difficult for him to obtain permission to retire, after a few 
weeks of thankless employment. His name and his integrity 
commanded respect, and the opposition of a whole life 
against the nobles, made him regarded by all the lower 
classes as the great partisan of the democracy. This influ- 
ence was not lost even when he opposed the folhes of the 
populace. They still show a square at Milan, opposite to the 
great theatre, which was one day filled by a large mob of idle 
fellows, who .ran about crying, " Long life to the Republic — 
death to the Aristocrats P'' Parini issued from a coffee-house 
and exclaimed, " Viva la Republica — e morte a nessuno ; Ca- 
naglia stolta /" The crowd .'instantly dispersed. Whatever 
may be the honours acquired by poetry in England, we cannot 
form an idea of the influence enjoyed by a man who has ob- 
tained a great literary reputation in a country where the 
largest portion of the people cannot read. He is listened to 
with a sort of religious obedience. 

The circles at Milan were afraid of every word that might 
drop from Parini, and he now and then abused his acknow- 
ledged ascendancy. But his intolerance never extended to 
his friends : with them he was indulgent to the last degree, 
and his severity was laid aside for a sort of infantine joviality. 
He was pleased with the company of those young people who 
were distinguished by the fire, the frankness, and the ctourde- 
rie of their age : but he was incensed somewhat extravagant- 
ly against those who either affected, or were naturally in- 
clined to, gravity. He was complaisant and affable to 
strangers who came, even without introduction, to visit him ; 
but if they unfortunately ventured to praise him, they did not 
escape without a reprimand, and found his door shut against 
them ever afterwards. 

His philosophy, strengthened as it was by the useful alliance 
of disease and age, did not, however, defend him against the 
attacks of love : and the odes written towards the end of his 



248 

life, are sufficient proof that he never looked upon female 
charms with impunity. He confesses this truth, and perhaps 
has adopted the safest course to avoid ridicule, by declaring 
openly, that his good genius, v^^hich had preserved him from 
the tortures of ambition and avarice, had still left him accessi- 
ble to the soft torment of the most tender and most disin- 
terested of all the passions.^ 

Those high-born dames who were often the objects of his 
affection and of his poetry, were much flattered by his pre- 
ference, and forgave him all that he had said of their hus- 
bands and of their Cavalieri Serventi. With these he never 
made peace. And although he was an inmate in many great 
houses, he staid not a moment after he saw that he was re- 
quired to submit to condescensions incompatible with his 
principles, and unbecoming his character. After all that has 
been said of the liberahty of the great, it is clear that the 
precedence granted to genius does not commence during the 
lifetime even of the most fortunate writer. It was by a noble 
perseverance that Parini, indigent, unknown, imperfect, and 
perpetually boasting of his paternal plough, succeeded so far 
as to make himself respected by those powerful classes whose 
vices he decried ; and maintained the dignity of his character 
and calling in a country where flattery, common as it is else- 
where, is found more base and abject amongst the men of 
letters than in the other orders, where the poets are very 
often the buffoons of their society, and where the tutors of 
boys of rank are confounded with the domestics of the 
family. At the time that almost all the Italian rhymesters, 
an innumerable class, were dedicating their canzoni and their 
sonnets to their respective patrons, Parini refused to recite a 
single verse at the table of any great man.t 

He is to be exactly recognised in the portrait which he has 
given of himself. 

" Me, non nato a pcrcotere 
Le dure illiistri porte, 
Nudo accorra, ma libeio, 
11 Regno della morte}" 

* See llu' two most celebrated odes, Jl Messag^io, and 11 Pericolo. 
f See the ode entitled La Recita dt' Versi. 
t See ])is ode La Vita Rustica. 



249 

He preserved his dignity and his poverty, the strength of hii 
mind and the powers of his genius, to his seventieth year. 
He had been employed a few days in projecting some verses,* 
and one morning he dedicated them to a friend. Having read 
them over, he said that he was satisfied with them, and 
begged his friend to get them printed. He then retired into 
his bedchamber, and, in half an hour afterwards, expired. 

VICTOR ALFIERI. 

The life of this author has been written by himself. His 
tragedies have been criticised in every European language. 
There still remain some notices on his death, and some 
opinions on his other works, which may be new to the English 
reader. 

His connexion with the Countess of Albany is known to all 
the world, but no one is acquainted with the secret of that 
long intercourse. If they were ever married, Alfieri and the 
Countess took as much pains to conceal that fact, as is usually 
bestowed upon its publicity. Truth might have been spoken 
on the tomb of the poet, but even there we only find that 
Louisa, Countess of Albany, was his only love — " quam unice 
dilexit" — A church, perhaps, was not the place to boast of 
such a passion ; but after every consideration we may con- 
clude, that the Abate Caluso, who wrote the epitaph, and 
received the last sighs of Alfieri, knew, and did not choose 
to tell, that his friend was never married to the widow of 
Charles Edward Stewart — " Tacendo clamat'''' — his silence is 
eloquent. 

Alfieri, in the languor of a protracted agony, which the 
presence of Caluso assisted him to support, received the last 
visit of a priest, who came to confess him, with an aflfability 
for which he was not distinguished in the days of his health : 
but he said to him, " Have the kindness to look in to-morrow ; 
I trust that death will wait for twenty-four hours." The ec- 
clesiastic returned the next day. Alfieri was sitting in his 
arm-chair, and said, " At present, I fancy, I have but a few 

* It is the last copy of verses at page 44 o!, the second volume of 
Parini's works. 



250 

minutes to spare :" and turning towards the Abbe, entreated 
him to bring the Countess to him. No sooner did he see her 
than he stretched forth his hand, saying, " clasp my hand, my 
dear friend, I die."* 

The reHgious opinions of Alfieri cannot be collected from 
his writings. His tragedies contain here and there a sarcasm 
against the Popes, and in his fugitive pieces may be found 
some epigrams against the monastic orders, but more parti- 
cularly against the cardinals. Not a word, however, has ever 
escaped him against the Christian doctrines. It is only upon 
close inspection that we find, in a treatise on tyranny, that 
auricular confession, and the indissolubility of marriage, have 
contributed to the enslavement of Italy. His latter years 
were divided between a haughty irascibility and a deep me- 
lancholy, which afflicted him by turns, to a degree which 
rendered him scarcely accountable for his actions. Alfieri 
was then not unfrequently seen in the churches from vespers 
to sunset, sitting motionless, and apparently wrapt up in lis- 
tening to the psalms of the monks, as they chanted them from 
behind the screen of the choir. The way in which he died 
would, however, lead us to conjecture, that his meditatione 
were not those of religion, and that he chose such a retreat 
in search of that solemn tranquilUty which alone promised 
him a temporary repose from the relentless furies that preyed 
upon his heart i 

Due fere Donne, anzi due Furie atroci 
Tor' not) mi posso — ahi misero ! — dal fiance ; 
, Ira e Malinconia. 

The complaint is from one of his own sonnets. He print- 
ed, during his own life, but he could never be persuaded to 
publish, some prose works, and amongst them the treatise 
before mentioned, " Delia Tirannide,^^ and another entitled, 
" // Principe e h Letterc.''^ They are in two small volumes. 
The first is a series of close arguments and severe remarks 
against monarchy. The second is written to prove, that 
poets, historians, and orators, can flourish only amongst a 

* Stringetemi, cara araica ! la naano, io muojo- 



251 

free people, and that tyranny is interested in the advanec- 
mcnt only of the sciences, and more especially of medicine 
and jurisprudence. In both these works he has shown that 
his address lay chieily in the vigour of his attack ; his pre- 
parations for defence were less skilfully disposed. Indeed, 
he seems to forget that he was liable to a retort. Thus it is 
that he may confirm the partisans of freedom, but he cannot 
hope to make a convert from the opposite Opinion. 

The Italians look npon the prose of Alfieri as a model of 
style, particularly on pohtical subjects. It is simple and en- 
ergetic ; his ideas are not abundant, but they are clear and 
precise, and connected according to the exactest rules of 
reasoning. It corresponds well with a metaphor employed 
for its description by one of his own countrymen — " I suoi 
pensieri in prosa sono non tanto vagamente dipinti quanto 
profondamente scolpiti."" His language is pure, and founded 
upon that of the oldest writers, but is free from the pedantry 
and the rust of antiquity. No man, therefore, was more 
quahtied than Allieri for the translation of Sallust. In fact, 
his version of that historian is reckoned a masterpiece. 

He tells us, in his preface, that this translation cost him 
many years of painful application. The whole of his works, 
indeed, bear the mark not only of laborious effort, but of 
retouching, repeated, and indefatigable. In the latter half 
of his own memoir, he had not time to be equally scrupulous, 
and that part is written in a style occasionally careless, and 
in a language not always remarkably correct. 

Alfieri, however, was not born to be the translator of Virgil. 
Could perseverance have obtained his object, his success was 
certain ; for he sat down to his task with the same constancy 
with which he commenced pupil in the Greek language, after 
he had passed his fortieth year. He translated the whole of 
the ^^neid three times over ; and yet the version published 
after his death, generally speaking, gives us but the contents 
of Virgil. The harmony, the glowing style, have no repre- 
sentative in the Italian epic. AUieri was a perfect master of 
his language ; his words were admirably adapted to the ex- 
pression of sentiments Avhich flowed Avarm from his heart; 
iut which, being invariably animated by the sanje ardent tem- 

32 



2i)2 

perature, absorbed his imagination, and left no room for those 
finer and varied graces which constitute the charm of poetry. 
Above all, he was extremely deficient in that branch of his 
art, in which his original is so consummate a master — the ele- 
vation of a mean subject by the happy use of metaphor. He 
could not 

" Throw about his manure with dignity." 

This must appear the more surprising, since the Italian lan- 
guage is essentially metaphorical, and is by that very quality 
capable of being adapted to such an astonishing variety of 
styles, according to the invention, the taste and the imagina- 
tion of each succeeding writer. 

Alfieri was not quite so unfortunate in his translation of 
Terence ; but even there his simplicity is studied, not natu- 
ral ; and even in his happiest effort he betrays the secret that 
he had no genius for comic writing. 

The six comedies found amongst his posthumous works are 
compositions extravagant in tlie extreme. It is possible that 
some may admire them for their originality : but the sober 
reader is much more astonished at the perseverance with 
which the poet pursued such unprofitable labour. One only, 
entitled The Divorce, is a satire on Italian marriages. The 
others cannot possibly be adapted to the theatre. They are 
in the manner of Aristophanes, and all turn on political sub- 
jects. The One {UUiio) is a satire against monarchy. The 
Few (IPochi), and The Too Many (1 Troppi), attack the aris- 
tocratic and the popular government. A fourth is meant to 
teach that the One, the Few, and the Too Many, should -be 
mixed together, and may then compose a system somewhat 
tolerable. 

The other comedy, called // Finestrhio, is a satire parti} 
against religious impostures ; but more against the philoso- 
phers who invent no good religion, but yet would destroy all 
the old creeds, although (so thinks Alfieri) a bad one is bet- 
ter than none at all. One of the principal persons of the 
drama is Mahomet. 

The verse and the language of these comedies are still more 
extravagant than their original conception. In short, they 



253 

are seldom read, and are regarded, except by a very few, as 
unworthy the genius of Alfieri. 

His posthumous works contain also some translations from 
the ancient dramatic writers ; the Frogs, the Persians, the 
Philoctetes, and the Alceste. To the latter he added another 
play of his own composition on the same subject, and formed 
exactly on the Greek model. He pleased himself with the 
innocent assertion that the new Alceste was a translation 
from a recovered manuscript, which might fairly be attributed 
to Euripides. It is the happiest of his latter efforts, and is 
only not tit for the modern stage. In the closet it affects us 
by that pathetic tenderness with which Alfieri either could not 
or would not embellish his other tragedies, constructed as 
they were expressly for the purpose of bracing the relaxed 
vigour of his effeminate felloAv-countrymen. 

With this noble design he composed a sort of drama, alto- 
gether new, which he called a mdo-tragedy . His object here 
was to unite the music which the Italians look upon as a con- 
stituent part of the theatre, with the grandeur and pathos of 
tragedy. He chose the Z)ea//i o/" ^6e/ for his subject, and he 
adopted that repeated change of scene which his countrymen 
would have regarded as a monstrous innovation, although it 
is one of the characteristics of their opera. 

Angels and demons are part of the persons of the drama, 
and are 'he singers of the play. The poetry of their songs is 
composed in different metres. Adam, Eve, and their two 
sons also discourse in verse, but in blank verse, and without 
music. This composition has some brilliant passages ; but is, 
on the whole, devoid of interest. As an experiment it would 
perhaps be unproducible on the Italian stage, where the opera 
has formally excluded all display of ideas or sentiments, and 
almost of words, and is solely devoted to the musician and the 
ballet master. 

The satires of Alfieri will cherish the melancholy of every 
unwilling member of human society. They are directed 
against every condition. Kings and nobles, rich and poor, 
priests and philosophers, physicians, lawyers, merchants, 
none are exempt ; all of them, in fact, are made the subject, 
and furnish the title of a separate censure. The satirist is 



254 

£vee from personality, and even all individual allusion ; he 
strives no farther than to convince his reader, that whatever 
may be his place or pursuit, he runs a great risk of being un- 
happy, and wicked, and contemptible. Of the women alone 
he says nothing good, and nothing bad. His satire on them is 
contained in a very few verses, and resolves itself into the 
maxim, that the stronger is responsible for the vices of the 
weaker sex. 

There are, however, certain of his satires which are recom- 
mendable from their wit, and from their acquaintance with 
human nature. We may select the Cavaliere Scrvente Vete- 
rano, 1 Pedanii, — UEdticazione — s.nd II Duel/o, In the lat- 
ter he steps forward, like another Johnson, in defence of a 
practice necessary for the protection of the man of honour, 
from the intrigues, and calumnies, and assaults of the coward 
and the bully. Another of the same class, / Viaggi, is de- 
voted to the censure of himself, and of the nobility, and of 
those who travel for want of occupation. 

This satire is in terza rima, and is the best specimen of that 
harshness of versification which the warmest admirers of Al- 
lien allow to be indefensible. He was seduced into this error 
by a wish to shun the opposite defect which characterized the 
poets of the preceding generation. The plant had been so 
warped and drawn to the earth on one side by Mctastasio, that 
Aiticri thought he could never recover its position without 
bending backwards as much on the other. The tree is not yet 
upright. Yet his strange words, and his capricious innova- 
tions in phraseology, profusely as they are spread over his 
satires and his comedies, will be forgotten or forgiven, and the 
force and purity of his diction will ever recommend the prose 
of Aifieri to the study of his countrymen. It is worthy of 
remark, that the Paris edition of his tragedies, which he 
printed at the press of Didot, is partially exempt from that 
harshness of versification observable in all his former editions. 
The errors of a man of genius are not unfrequently of 
service to the^cause of literature. Mr. Bellotto, in his tran- 
slation of Sophocles, chose Aifieri for his model, as far as re- 
garded his method and general style ; but he softened the 
diction, he harmonized the numbers of his prototype, and 



255 

thus succeeded in producing a work which had been long ex- 
pected, and often essayed in vain. 

Alfieri, a little after the year 1790, and before his return to 
Italy, printed at Kell some specimens of lyrical poetry in 
two volumes. The first contains an ode on the taking of the 
Bastille, and a poem, comprising live odes on the emancipa- 
tion of America. The one addressed to Washington is the 
best; but bespeaks, after all, only the originality of the poet. 
It no less shows that he had misdirected his genius ; for his 
ode is in the same harsh, dry style which spoils his translation 
of Virgil. The eulogist of America could not be expected 
to spare the English ; but his dislike was confined to the mi- 
nister of the day — the nation which he has praised so often in 
his memoirs he did not degrade in his poetry. Indeed his ode 
on the Bastille contains an appendix with which we cannot but 
be content. This is a short apologue, in which the English 
are the bees^ the French the jlics, of the fable. 

The other volume of his lyrics consists in great part of ama- 
tory sonnets, almost all addressed to the same person. The 
delicacy of his sentiments, the fire of his passion, and the 
novelty of his turns of thought, redeem the want of elegance 
and harmony, which must be regretted in the whole perfor- 
mance, and may, peihaps, be discovered in the following spe- 
cimens. 

The first was written in the Album, at Petrarch's house, at 
Arqua. 

O Cameretta, cho gid in to chiudesti 
Quel Grande alia cui fama fe angusto il mondo, 
Quel gentile d'amor mastro profondo 
Per cui Tjaura ebbe in terra onor celesti. 

O di pensier soavemente mesti 
Solitario ricovero giocondo ! 
Di che lagrime amare il petto inondo 
In veder che ora innonorato resti ! 

Prezioso diaspro, agata, ed ero 
Foran debito fregio e appena degno 
Di rivestir si nobile tesoro- 

Ma no ; tonnba fregiar d'uoni ch' ebbe regno 
Vuolsi, e por gemme ove disdice alloro : 
Qui basta il noaie di quel Divo Ingegno 



256 
The other is on the tomb of Dante. 

O gran padre Allighier, se dal ciel miii 
Me non indegno tuo disccpol starmi, 
Dal cor traendo profundi sospiri, 
Prostrate innaiizi a tuoi fiinerci marmi ; 

Piacciutl, deh ! propizio a' bei desiri, 
D'un raggio di tna mente illuminarmi : 
Uora clie a pcrenne e prima gloria aspiri 
Contro invidia e vilta dee stringer I'armi? 

Figiio, i' le strinsi, e ben men duel, che diedi 
Nome in tal guisa a gcnte tanto bassa 
Da non pur calpestarsi co'miei piedi — 

Se in mefidi, tuo sguardo non abbassa ; 
Va, tuoria, vinci, e niun di costor vedi, 
Non che parlarne ; ma sovr' essi passa. 

His work, called the Misogallo, of which he speaks with so 
much complacency in his own memoirs, was not printed until 
the year 1814, ten years after his death, and just as the 
French evacuated Italy. One might have thought the period 
well chosen ; and yet the editors were obliged to leave gaps 
in certain passages, particularly where he told truth of the 
Popes. The Misogallo is a mixture of prose and of epigrams. 
These latter would be a wretched effort, even in a middling 
author — they betray the rage of impotent sarcasm. As for 
the book itself, it is also seasoned more with spite than wit — 
a remark that holds good of some other epigrams published 
during the life-time of the author. Mr. Forsyth has cited two 
that are just in point.* The prose of the Misogallo contains 
two pieces worthy of perusal : one is the defence which Al- 
fieri would have put into the mouth of Louis XVI. in pre- 
sence of the Convention. The other is the apology of the 
author himself, for his detestation of the French revolution, 
as having ruined the cause of Hberty ; that cause to which Al- 
fieri had dedicated all his talents, and the better portion of his 
fortune and his life. 

Amongst the ancient and modern poets of Italy, no one has 
furnished so many pictures and busts as Alfieri. Fabre, who 
excels in portraits, and was his frieiid, has taken four likenesses 

* Remarks, he. on Italy, p. 62, edit- 2d. 



257 

ia oil ; all of them much esteemed, and, it should seem, 
justly. There is also a profile, having for inscription the son- 
net in which he describes both his person and his character. 

*' Sublime Specchio di veraci detti 
Mostrami in corpo e in aiiima qual sono. 
Capelii or radi in fronte, e rossi pretti ; 
Lunga statura e capo a terra prone 

Sottil persona su due stinchi schietti ; 
Bianci pelle, occhio azzurro, aspetto buono, 
Giusto naso, bel labbro, e dent) eletti, 
Pallido in viso piik che un Re sul trono. 

Or duro acerbo, ora pieghevol mite, 
Irato sempre e non mali^no mai, 
La mente e il cor meco in perpetua lite ; 

Per lo piu mesto, e talor lieto assai, 
Or stimandomi Achille, ed or Tersite, 
Uom, sei tu grande, o vil ? Mori e il saprai." 

Compare the Orestes, the Virginia, the Mj^rha^ the Saul, 
and some other of his tragic masterpieces, with his comedies 
and his Miso^allo, and we shall almost think it was the voice 
of conscience that told him he was sometimes the Achilles, 
sometimes the Thersites of authors. 

His example has confirmed the opinion, that genius is the 
distinctive merit of poets. Alfieri, whose education was very 
much neglected, and whose youth was sunk in the loosest dis- 
sipation {dissipatissima^), rose, in a few years, to the highest 
literary distinction, and was ranked amongst the great writers 
of his country. His perseverance and ^lis ardour were, it is 
true, such as are rarely seen. Yet the same perseverance, 
the same ardour, were employed in the production of his 
latter writings : his learning was greater, his knowledge of 
the world more extensive, and his understanding more en- 
lightened l)y the progress of years, and by that revolution of 
which he was an eye-witness, and which sharpened even very 
inferior intellects. Neither was he, at any period of his life, 
too advanced in age for mental exertion, for he was not fifty- 
three when he died. It is incontestable, however, that the 
suppression of the greater part of his posthumous publica- 

* See his letter to Mr. Calsabigi, printed in the preface to his tragedies. 



258 

tions would have been of infinite service to his fame. Per- 
haps he was born to shine in tragedy, and in tragedy alone ; 
and perhaps the prodigious exertions of his first efforts ex- 
hausted his vigour and depressed his spirit, and condemned 
his latter years to languor and to regret. He might exclaim, 
with the ancient, 

" Non sum qualis evam : periit pars maxima nostri 
Hoc quoqiie, quod supeiest languor et horror habent" 

It is affirmed by those who knew him, that between his fits of 
melancholy, Alfieri conversed with warmth, but always with 
, a certain tincture of bitterness ; and it is distressing to be 
told that he studiously avoided all those whom he had not 
known for several years. He carried this aversion to new 
intimacies to such a length, that a letter addressed by any 
other than a well-known hand, and under any but the seal of 
a friend, was thrown into the fire unopened. It need hardly 
be added, that he had but two or three correspondents. The 
public journals and periodical papers he never once looked 
into for many of his latter years. Thus he had no means of 
becoming acquainted with his own share of that glory which 
had been the principal object of his life. Nor did he believe 
himself arrived at the station which he actually occupied in 
the eyes of his couutrymcn, and of all Europe. His melan- 
choly divested the vanities of fife of all their charms, and he 
refused to cherish the only illusion that could console his 
existence. 

Count Alexander Pepoli, who inherited the wealth and the 
name of that powerful family, which, during the middle ages, 
made themselves masters of Bologna, and alarmed the princes 
of Italy, was the cotemporary, and, it may be said, the rival 
of Alfieri. He wrote tragedies, he wrote comedies : both the 
one and the other were applauded on the stage ; both the 
one and the other now slumber in the libraries. He aspired 
to the invention of a new drama, which he thought Shakspe- 
rian, and which he called FIsedia — a compliment to our poet, 
and a tacit reproof to all other writers for the stage, from 
jEschylus downwards. His Representation of Nattire pleased 
both the people and the actors, but never came to a second 
edition. Like Alfieri, he also was passionately fond of horses, 



259 

and he was bolder than our poet, for he drove a Roman car, a 
quadriga, at full gallop over the ascents and descents of the 
Apennines, He built a theatre for the reprcseiitation of his 
own tragedies ; he founded the magnificent printing press at 
Venice, from which, under the name of the Tipografia Pepo- 
liana, have issued many works, and particularly several edi- 
tions of the Italian historians. His daily occupations were 
divided, with a scrupulosity which they hardly merited, be- 
tween his studies, his horses, and his table. His guests con- 
sisted of men of letters, of buffoons, of people of fashion, 
and of parasites. His nights were devoted to the pursuits of 
gallantry, in which he was sufficiently successful ; for he was 
handsome and he was rich. His amours were occasionally 
postponed for his billiards, at which he lost large sums of mo- 
ney, in the pursuit of an excellence which he would fain have 
attained at all games of skill. His great ambition was to be 
the first runner in Italy, and he died in 1796, before he was 
forty, of a pulmonary complaint, which he had caught in a 
foot-race with a lacquey. He merits a place in this memoir, 
not for the brilliancy of his compositions, but for the shade 
of relief which they furnish to the similar and successful 
efforts of Alfieri. 

HIPPOLITUS PINDEMONTE. 

The Marquis John Pindemonte, eldest brother of him who 
will be here treated of, is a proof of the preliminary observa- 
tion, that a man of literature may be very popular in Italy, 
and yet be without that settled reputation which owes its 
origin to the suffrages of the learned class of readers. This 
nobleman, in conjunction with Pepoli, kept for some time 
possession of the stage. The tragedies of John Pindemonte, 
which are now almost forgotten, brought crowds to the theatre 
at the time that Alfieri was listened to with impatience. 
Hippolitus Pindemonte has perhaps less imagination than his 
brother, but he was naturally endowed with a certain delicacy 
of taste, the developement of which, by an education truly 
classical, has secured for him the highest distinctions of 
literature. It is. however, a fact which any one will verify 

33 



260 

by a careful inquiry, that the poetry of HippoHtus Pindemonte 
is not rehshed by the generality of readers, who are neverthe- 
less obliged to repeat his praises, having been taught that 
lesson by the learned distributors of literary fame, and by 
those who are by tacit consent allowed to possess the most 
cultivated taste. The same obedient crowd throng the play- 
houses, to see the tragedies of his elder brother, but the fear 
of the same censors prevents them from praising the composi- 
tion of their favourite dramas. 

Hippolitus has also written a tragedy on the death of Armi- 
nius, the German hero, whose conspiracy against the liberties 
of his country was punished with death, from the hand of his 
own relations. The style of this piece is much applauded ; 
the plan of it is on the model of Shakspeare, without, how- 
ever, a total abandonment of those ancient rules which the 
Italians will allow no writer to violate with impunity. He has 
introduced chorusses sung by young warriors and maidens, 
and has thus combined, with some success, the English, the 
Greek, and the Italian drama — as to the French plan, the 
example and the system of Alfieri have created a persuasion 
that it is irreconcilable with the Italian theatre. Whether 
the Arminius has stood the great test, does not appear in the 
published play. Perhaps it has been never acted, and per- 
haps it may be as little qualified for any stage as the Caractacus 
and the Elfrida would be for our own. 

The works of Pindemonte which are most esteemed, are 
soma lyrical poems, and particularly his epistles in verse. 
These last contain a happy assemblage of qualities not easily 
combined. The Italians behold in them the amenity of 
Horace, the tenderness of Petrarch, and a certain gravity of 
ideas and sentiments, for which, perhaps, he is indebted to 
his acquaintance with English poetry. A similar transfusion 
of our style was before attempted by Mazza. The epistles 
are in blank verse, the favourite metre of the present day. 

This writer has not only borrowed the English style, but 
many individual passages of our poets, more particularly of 
Milton and of Gray. The plagiaries, if they may so be 
called, are inserted with considerable taste and effect. A 
great part of his youth was spent in travelling, and he lived 



261 

long enough in England to become familiar with our literature. 
His Campestri contain some copies of verses addressed to 
Englishmen. He speaks with enthusiastic admiration of their 
country; and it may be pleasing to see a fine description 
which he gives of a park, one of the characteristic beauties 
of England. 

Speaking of the practice of raising tombs in gardens, he 
continues, 

" Cosi eletta dimora e si pietosa 
L* Anglo talvolta, die profondi e forti 
Non meno che i pensier, vanta gli' affetti, 
Alle pill amate ceneri destina 
Nelle sue tanto celebrate ville, 
Ove per gli occhi in seno, e per gli orecchi 
Tanta m' entrava, e si innocente ebbrezza. 
Oh chi mi leva in alto, e chi mi porta 
Tra quegli ameni, dilettosi, immensi 
Boscherecci teatri ! Oh chi mi posa 
Su que' verdi tappeti, entro que' foschi 
Solitarj ricoveri, nel grembo 
Di quelle valli, ed a que' colli in vetta ! 
Non recise cola bellica scure 
Lc gioconde ombre ; i conseuti asili 
La non cercaro invan gli ospiti augelli : 
Ne Primavera s' ingann&, veggendo 
Sparito dalla terra il noto bosco, 
Che a rivestir venia delle sue frondi. 
Sol nella man del giardinier solerte 
, Mando lampi cola 1' acuto Perro, 

Che rase il prato ed aKguaglioUo ; e i rami 

Che tra lo aguardo, e le lontane scene 

Si ardivano frappor, dotto corrcsse. 

Prospetti vaghi, inaspettati incontri, 

Bei sentieri, antri freschi, opachi seggi, 

Leute acque e mute all' erba e ai fiori in mezzo, 

Precipitanti d' alto acque tonanti, 

Dirupi di sublime orror dipinti, 

Campo e giardin, lusso erudito e agrestc 

Semplicita — Quinci ondeggiar la messe, 

Pender le capre da un' aerea balza, 

La valle mugolar, bellare il colle : 

Quinci marmoreo sovra I' onde un ponte 



262 ' 

Curvarsi, e un tempio biancheggiar tra il verde ; 

Straniere piante frondeggiar, che d' ombre 

Spargono Americane il suol Brittanno, 

E su rarao, che avea per altri augelli 

Natura ordito, aiigei cantar d'Europa. 

Mentre superbo delle arboree corna 

Va per la seiva il cervo, e spesso il capo 

Volge, e ti guarda ; e in mezzo all' onda il cigno 

Pel pie fa remo, il collo inarca, e fende 

L' argenteo lago. Cos! bel soggiorno 

Sentono i bruti stessi, e delle selve 

Scuoton con istupor la cima i venti. 

D'^h per^ch non poss' io tranquilli passi 

Muovere ancor per quelle vie, celarmi 

Sotto I' intreccio ancor di que' frondosi 

Rami ospitali, e udir da lunge appena 

Mugghiar del Mondo la tempesta, urtarsi 

L' un contro 1' altro popolo, corone 

Spczzarsi, e scettri ? oh quanta strage ! oh quanto 

Scavar di fosse, e traboccar di corpi 

E ai condottier trafUti alzar di tombe !" 

It was, however, neither our parks nor our learned leisure 
that awakened such lively feelings, and called forth such ar- 
dent vows for his return to England. Our women must share 
the merit of the inspiration ; for Pindemonte has given the 
initial of some nymph who had the good fortune to be the ob- 
ject of his first real, as well as his first poetic, passion. It may 
perhaps be flattering to this person, if she is still in existence, 
to know that the poet's verses to Miss H * * * are esteemed 
by the Italians as some of his best, and not unworthy of com- 
parison with those which have immortalized the charms of 
Laura. They are in the form of a canzone, in the manner of 
Petrarch, and the two first stanzas are as follows : 

" O Giovenetta, che la dubbia via 

Di nostra vita, pellegrina allegra, 

Con pie non sospettoso iraprimi ed orni ; 

Sempre cosi propizio il ciel ti sia ! 

Nfe adombri mai r)ube improvvisa e negra 

L' innocente seron de' tuoi bei giorni. 

Non che il Mondo ritorni 

A te quanto gli dai tu di dolcezza, 

Ch' egli stesso ben sa non poter tanto- 



263 

Valle fe questa di pianto 

E gran dan no qui spesso fe gran bellezza, 

Qui dove perde agevolmente fama 

Qual piu vaga si chiatna : 

Come andra I' alma mia giojosa e paga 

Se impuneraente esaer potrai si vaga ! 

" II men di che pu& donna esser cortese 
Ver chi 1' ha di sfe stesso assai piii cai'a 
Da te, vergine pura, io non vorrei : 
Veder in te queila che pria m' accese 
Bramo, e sol temo che men grande e cara 
Ci6 ti faccia parere agli occhi miei. 
Nfe volontier torrei 
Di spargerti nel sen foco amoroso, 
Chfe quanto fe a me piu noto il fiero ardore 
Delitto far maggiore 
Mi parria se turbassi il tuo riposo. 
Maestro io primo ti sard d' affanno ? 
O per me impareranno 
Nuovi afFanni i tuoi giorni, ed interrotti 
Sonni per me le tue tranquille notti ?" 

The whole of the remainder of this canzone gives a flat- 
tering picture of the beauty, of the modesty, and of the unaf- 
fected graces, of the Enghsh young women of that day ; and 
the deUcacy of such a passion redounds not less to the credit 
of the poet than of the lady, who must either have been na- 
turally exempt from the ambition of coquetry, or must have 
taken great pains to conceal it. 

The same author has published a romance in prose, which, 
as far as regards the apparent purpose of the work, reminds 
us of Rasselas. But Pindemonte's Abarite has failed to pro- 
cure him the reputation of a distinguished prose writer. For 
purity, for erudition, for polish, it is not inferior to his verses, 
but it wants the charm of those pleasing compositions. His 
prefaces, his literary correspondence, and his little biographies, 
have never been seriously criticised, and are perhaps not 
worth it. 

He has been assailed, like all other writers, by repeated 
criticisms ; but those criticisms have made little noise, and, 
however they may have really affected him, have not disturb- 



264 

ed his apparent tranquillity. The baseness of flattery, the 
bitterness of censure, will not be found in the personal allu- 
sions of Pindemonte. His writings, like his conversation, are 
those of an accomplished gentleman. 

He has always in theory been devoted to the cause of liber- 
ty ; but at the coming of the French he laid down for his con- 
duct one inviolable maxim — Hide thy life ; notwithstanding 
that his eldest brother and many of his friends have been active- 
ly/ engaged zoith different political parties.^ He has confined 
himself to some poetical complaints of the ravages and de- 
gradation which the sword of the stranger has for so many 
ages inflicted on his unhappy country. 

From the beginning of the Revolution he has passed his 
time between Venice and Verona, his native town, and chiefly 
employed upon a translation of the Odyssey. There are many 
Italian translations of Homer, but not one has yet obtained 
that complete success which the voice of the nation, and the 
sanction of the learned world, alone can bestow. Pinde- 
monte has, it is probable, judiciously selected this poem in 
preference to the Iliad, which would have required more ima- 
gination and more energy than are the characteristics of his 
style. The two first books were published some time ago, and 
Italy was as impatient as such a prospect can make her, for 
the remainder of the performance. The whole translation 
appeared at the close of the last year, but what was the effect 
or judgment resulting from it, cannot, of course, yet be 
known. The poet's health has of late years been much on 
the decline, and obliged him to proceed leisurely with his oc- 
cupation. He has passed his sixtieth year, and age and infir- 
mity have made him devout. His spiritual exercises occupy 
a considerable portion of his time, and plunge him into that 
consuming solitude which a more rational religion would teach 
him to exchange for the active duties and social amusements of 
life. 

This author is not ranked amongst the men of surpassing 
genius which Italy has produced, and, perhaps, ought not to 
be : but the assiduity of his studies ; the consummate skill 

* See his own declaration in the preface to his Epistles, published at 
Verona, in the year 1805. 



265 

with which he has known where to employ, and how to deve- 
lope his superior abihties ; the sleepless care with which he 
has watched over the rise, and preserved the integrity of his 
fame ; the decorum both of his life and writings ; have se- 
cured for him the undisputed possession of the first place in 
the intermediate class, between the great masters of the art, 
and those who write to captivate the multitude. The English 
reader will understand this place by recurring to the author of 
the Pleasures of Memory, and perhaps that gentleman may 
accept as much of the comparison as the just ambition of a 
poet will allow him to think consistent with the pretension to 
unqualified excellence. This intermediate class, although, as 
in the present instance, it occasionally produces an author, is 
composed for the most part of those who may be called ra- 
ther learned readers than learned writers. Such a class has 
sprung up partially amongst ourselves, but with this difference, 
that our critics, although they do not condescend to advance 
in the regular uniform of writers, still appear in print, and that 
not unfrequently ; whereas in Italy they seldom take up the 
pen, and acquire by that discretion a dignity which gives more 
weight to their oral judgment. These persons have received 
what we call a regular education, are familiar with, and form- 
ed upon, the classical writers, both ancient and modern ; and, 
by an habitual application of the prescribed rules to everj 
popular performance, are the self-instituted, but undisputed, 
arbiters of taste. There are five or six of these in every con- 
siderable town ; and one set, some of whom are perhaps au- 
thors, presides over all the provincial critics ; not even the 
writers of a respectable class dare to pronounce their opinion 
without a previous inquiry at the national oracle. A great 
compiler, Tiraboschi for instance, would not have ventured 
to speak of a cotemporary until he knew what decision had 
been pronounced by Bettinelli or Roberti. 

These persons establish, by the union of their sufTrages, a 
reputation which is sure not to be ephemeral. But there is 
yet another class of readers, whom it is prudent to gain be- 
fore an author can promise himself 

" The life to come in every poet's creed." 



266 

These are the men of cultivated minds, the men of the world ^ 
a vague phrase, but which will be understood, although it 
cannot be precisely defined. With the combined verdict of 
the former as the guardians of the language, and of the latter 
as the organ of the feelings of his countrymen, the Italian 
author may be secure that the common readers will follow in 
a crowd, and, like the Romans to Augustus, raise frequent 
altars to his living merit. 

VINCENT MONTI. 

This poet has always enjoyed, and still enjoys a sort of pre- 
eminence, of which, notwithstanding all the world seems 
agreed upon his claims, he has often been very nearly de- 
prived. His subjects have, for the most part, been popular 
and occasional. He has laid hold of the most interesting 
events of the moment : he has sustained the preponderating 
opinions, and he has invariably advocated the interests of the 
succeeding reigning powers. With such advantages, it is not 
strange that he should have found many willing and eager 
readers ; nor is it more strange that all the various govern- 
ments, one after the other, should have continued to rank 
him amongst their partisans. It may excite somewhat more 
surprise to remark the air not only of enthusiasm, but of sin- 
cerity, with which he has delivered his contradictory pane- 
gyrics, and to admire the address, with which he appears 
rather repentant than changeful, and converts the dictates of 
interest into a case of conscience. By turns flattering and 
irritating every party, he has not only roused the passions of 
his cotemporaries, but has given them a direction towards 
himself. His real merit, and the advantage derived from his 
powerful pen by the triumphant faction, have protected him 
from neglect ; and that prostitution of talents which would 
have rendered him either odious or ridiculous in England, 
has been less contemptible in a country where there is more 
indifference, and less intelligence employed, in the view of 
political transactions. 

For three centuries not a single Italian poet had raised his 
voice asi;ainst the will or the wish of the powerful. Alfieri 
and Pa^rini had made the first noble exception to this submis- 



267 

sion, and it was more easy to admire than imitate so rare an 
example. • Monti, independent of the difference of natural 
disposition, was not born to the wealth of Altieri, nor was he 
thrown into the same juncture of circumstances that had 
favoured the Milanese poet ; neither had he been formed by 
that independent education which both the one and the other 
had enjoyed. In a word, Monti was brought up at the court 
of Rome. 

The charnd of Monti's poetry consists in a pleasing union of 
the soft and the strong. His ideas are strikingly apparent, his- 
sentiments are full of fire, his verses are truly melodious, and 
his imagery is highly embellished, and has received the last 
finishing and decoration of taste. He has, indeed, touched 
nothing that he has not adorned. If his poHsh is confined to 
the surface, not only himself but his readers are content with- 
out inquiring into the depth of his capacity. 

Monti owed the first diffusion of his reputation to his Aristo- 
demus, a tragedy which, to use the language of the stage, is a 
stock play in constant acting, notwithstanding the passion and 
interest are totally confined to the chief character. The dia- 
logue was found to have more warmth, and colouring, and 
energy, than that of Metastasio, who was then in possession of 
the stage ; and the audience were not terrified even by the 
shadow of that harshness, and violence, and obscurity, which 
characterized the tragedies of Alfieri, who was just emerging 
into notice, and regarded as a wild irregular genius, scarcely 
within the pale of literary civilization. Monti then was the 
tragic writer of Italy, and was confidently hailed as the suc- 
cessful candidate for an eminence as yet never occupied. 

He afterwards published two other tragedies : Galeotto Man- 
fredi, which is not only far below his Aristodemus, but beneath 
the talents of the author, and Caius Gracchus. Some fine pas- 
sages constitute the sole merit of the last tragedy, into which 
he has introduced some scenes that the Italians are pleased to 
call by far too natural — '* assai troppo naturaU.'''' These scenes 
were expressly imitated from Shakspeare, and succeeded at 
first — nobody, however, dared to applaud them in the subse- 
quent representations. The critical spectators near the or- 
chestra, and the closet-judges, having once condemned that 

34 



268 

which appears to mihtate against classical authority, their 
sentence is irrevocable : — the people have not a ^^ice ; or, il 
they dare to speak, are not heard. The defects of Monti'* 
tragedies are reducible to the insignificance of his characters, 
to the irregularity of his plot, and to a style sometimes too ly- 
rical, sometimes too tame. These were discovered by the 
audience, and perhaps by the poet, for he laid no further 
claim to the throne of Melpomene. 

The work of his which has made the most noise, is the 
*' Cantica in morte di Ugo Basville,^'' published in Rome in 
179.3, when the author was about thirty-five years of age. — 
This poem is even now considered superior to the subsequent 
productions of this fruitful writer, whd has never laid aside, 
and still holds the pen. An edition of it has been published 
in London by Mr. Matthias, with the title La Revohizione 
Franceze, and another appeared at Paris with another name, 
Le Dante Ingenlilito. It would be difficult to guess at the mo- 
tive for these changes, with which it is probable the poet was 
not made acquainted ; and it would be more difficult still to 
justify the usurpation of rights which appear to belong only to 
the author. 

Hugh Basville was a man of letters, employed on a mission 
at Rome by the National Convention. His object was, pro- 
bably, to sow the seeds of democracy, and to watch the con- 
duct of the papal government in the approaching revolution. 
Others there are, however, who affirm that he was only on his 
return from the court of Naples, where he had been secretary 
of the French Legation, and that he was charged with no such 
commission. This is asserted in one of the numbers of the 
Gazette dcs Maires, published at Paris by Captain de Bas- 
ville, who has undertaken to justify his father's memory. 
The Roman populace, however, looked upon him as a 
Jacobin spy, murdered him, and pillaged his house. The 
capital of the world indulged in a savage triumph at this ex- 
ploit, and the ministers of the pope, by their inactivity to 
punish, were suspected of participating in the crime. But 
Pius VI. was generous enough to save the wife and child of 
Basville from the rage of the multitude. On this occasion 
Monti wrote his poem. 



269 

According to the anecdotes contained in some pamphlets, 
and, amongst others, in one called Esamc su le accuse contro V, 
Monti, published at Milan in 1798, Monti was the friend of 
Basville ; and it is certain, that in the greater part of his sub- 
sequent writings he showed himself a friend of the revolution. 
His poem justified the court of Rome, perpetuated the name of 
his friend, and saved himself from the perils of his late intimacy 
with a Jacobin. The plan of this work is very simple. Bas- 
ville repents and dies, and is pardoned by the Almighty. An 
angel conducts his spirit across those kingdoms of the earth 
which had been desolated by the wars and crimes of the 
French revolution. They arrive at Paris at the moment that 
Louis XVI. is mounting the scaffold. The spirit of the king, 
ascending to heaven, meets the shade of Basville, and the an- 
gel makes them known to each other. The king questions 
him, and Basville narrates the cause and the manner of his 
death. 

La f route sollevo, rlzzossi in piedi 
Uaddolorato spirto ; e le piipille 
Tergendo, a dire i comincio : Tu vedi, 

Signor, nel tuo cospetto Ugo Basville 
Dalla Francese Liberta mandato 
Sid Tebro a suscitar Pempie scintille, 

Stolto ! che volli con Vimmohil fato 
Cozzar della gran Roma, onde ne porto 
Rotta la tempia e iljianco insanguinato. 

Che di Giuda il Leon non anco e morio 
Ma vive e rugge ; e il pelo arruffa e gli occhi 
Terror d^Egitto, e d'^Israel conforto : 

E se monta in furor, Vaste, e gli stocchi 
Sa spezzar de'' nemici ; e par che gride 

" SON LO SDEGNO DI DIG : NESSUN MI TOCCHI." 

Here Basville confesses the crime which brought him to his 
end, and lauds the vengeance of Rome and of the Lion of Ju- 
dah. But the above quotation suggests another remark, which 
will be found more or less true of all Monti's works ; namely, 
that he has not scrupled to insert the ideas, and the turns of 



270 

expression of former poets in his best verses. The beginning 
of this canto reminds us of that of Dante's Ugohno ; 

La bocca sollev6 dal fero pasto 
Quel peccator — 
Pol commincio : Tu vuoi — 

and the last verse is evidently from Petrarch, 

" Son del Cesare mio : nessun mi tocchi." 

Monti indeed regards it as a portion of his art, and a proof 
of his talents, successfully to employ the fine thoughts, and 
the phrases of the great writers. No modern author has, per- 
haps, so freely imitated others as Monti ; but no modern au- 
thor has so frankly confessed his obligations, and his gratitude. 
His notes abound with the passages from which he has bor- 
rowed, and he has the praise of sometimes improving upon his 
originals, and of always introducing them in proper time and 
place. So far from accusing him of plagiary, we are rather 
agreeably surprised by the new aspect which he gives to beau- 
ties already familiar to every reader. 

The fourth canto of the poem prepares us for the war of the 
coalesced potentates to revenge the death of Louis XVI. The 
soul of Basville is condemned by the poet to expiate his 
crime, by beholding the horrors of the Revolution, and by 
wandering without the precincts of Paradise until France shall 
have received the punishment of her regicide : 

Finche non sia di Francia ultro il delitto. 

According to this plan, Monti had opened an unbounded field 
for his exertions, and by merely following the progress of 
events, he would have avoided those difficulties, with which 
the necessity of inventing and arranging a series of fictions, 
has embarrassed the greater part of all poetical writers. He 
would only have had to select the most remarkable traits in the 
astonishing history of our times, and to divide them, accord- 
ing to the rules of his art and the power of his genius, into 
pictures which should command the delight and wonder of 
posterity. The difficulty of handling a cotemporary topic, 
was not too great for the capacity of Monti, and had he con- 



271 

tinued his Basville to the victory of Waterloo, he might have 
occupied, next to Dante, that place which Virgil possesses in 
the vicinity of Homer. 

The voyage of the angel with the shade of Basville, is taken 
from that of Dante with the spirit of Virgil. The terze rime, 
a metre perfected by the father of Italian poetry, was, in the 
true sense of the word, ennobled {ingentilito) by Monti. It is 
true that he has not the same harmonious variety, nor the same 
boldness of expression, nor the same loftiness of thought as 
are found in his model. But he is more equal, more clear, 
more finished in every part : his images have not only the sta- 
ble grandeur, but even the glossy whiteness of Parian sculp- 
ture ; and although they succeed each other with astonishing 
rapidity, and force, and boldness, preserve an elegance pecu- 
liar to themselves, more especially in the terze rime, which no 
one has ever employed with the same success. It is piobable 
that Monti will never be surpassed in this metre : but in the 
heroic stanza he could not come into the field against Ariosto, 
and Tasso ; and in blank verse, Cesarotti, Parini, and Fo«- 
coio, have been more adventurous and more successful. 

Monti had scarcely published the fourth canto of his poem, 
(which, such as he left it, does not amount to 1500 lines,) 
when the French conquered Lombardy. Perhaps it was fear, 
perhaps it was interest, or more likely still inclination, that 
seduced him from Rome, and settled him in the capital of the 
new Cisalpine republic. On this occasion he quitted the ser- 
vice of the Duke of Braschi, the nephew of Pius VI. Pre- 
lates, cardinals, and even Popes, had begun by being secreta- 
ries like himself, but Monti was a married man — he was a 
poet, and he was not besides in the good graces of his Holi- 
ness. He one day presented Pius with a magnificent edition 
of his poetry, and the Pontiflfcondescended to accept it : but 
added, at the same time, after quoting some verses of Meta2- 
tasio, '"'' No one, now-a-days, writes like that great poet.'^'^ 

Monti was now the poet of the popular assemblies, of the 
armies, of the democratic dinners, which rose together at the 
institution of the new Republic ; and his patriotic hymns have, 
almost alone, survived the innumerable copies of verses, in- 
spired by occasions so animating. But he did not confine him- 



272 

self to songs ; he wrote with sober severity against the priests : 
such are his Supcrstizione, and his Fmiatismo, and his Visione, 
in which the shade of Louis XVI. is changed from the martyr 
of his Basville into a hideous spectre. Neither his labours 
nor his devotion could, however, obtain for Monti the confi- 
dence or even the pardon of the friends of the revolution : 
We learn this from his own lips ; for he complains of it, and 
leaves nothing untried to convince his fellow-citizens of his 
sincerity, and begs at least for pity, in the opening of one of 
his poems, in which he brings himself upon the stage, and as- 
sumes the imploring pathetic attitude of the father of a 
family. 

Stendi dolce amor mio, sposa di letta, 
A quell' arpa la man, che la soave 
Uolce fatica di tue dita aspetta ! 

Svegliami raimonia ch' eiitro le cave 
Lattbrc alberga del sonoio legno, 
E de' forti pensier volgi la chiave- 

These were to Monti days of humiliation, and of bitterness, 
and of danger. The legislative council passed a severe and 
unjust law against those who, before the Italian Revolution, 
had written in favour of tyranny ; and it was seen that this 
law was directed more particularly against the author of the 
Basvilllana. The low retainers of literature, under the prC' 
text of patriotism, now gave vent to their jealousy, and as- 
sailed Monti with scurrilities equally violent and mean. 

Ilis friends had procured him a place in the commissariat of 
Romagna : but he was accused of peculation, and carried 
before a tribunal. The calumny was proved, and the de- 
fendant acquitted, but no steps were taken to punish the 
calumniators. 

3uch were the dangers of his position, or such was the in- 
constancy of his soul, that Monti disgraced himself beyond 
the wishes of his rivals. Pius VI. was carried off from Rome 
by the French, and the poet chose this forced migration of 
his former master for the occasion of an invective imitated 
from that ode of Horace, in which the Roman republic is 
compared to a ship tossed by the wind and waves, and steer- 



273 

iug for the harbour. No protestant pen has ever traced in- 
vectives more severe against the Great Harlot than are pour- 
♦'d forth by the repentant secretary. 

Dl mala merce e di dolor vai carca, 
O Nave, che dal Tosco al Sardo llto 
Porti il gran Pescator, chc in injimto 
Mar di colpe ha di Pier roita la barca : 

Vedi come t^insegue e il dorso inarca, 
Uonda irata ? de^ venti odi il ruggito ? 
Prendi porto, sollecita il pentito 
Remo e di tanto peccalor li scarca. 

Danlc liad before called upon the islands of Capraja and Cor- 
gona to block up the mouth of the Arno, and drown the in- 
habitants of Pisa, for their cruelly to the children of Ugo- 
lino ; and Monti novr invoked Sardinia, and told it to fly 
away, that the last of monsters might not find even a tomb to 
shelter him. 

E dr ill of or a 
.\'on dar di tomba ne d' arena tin vdo 
AW ultimo c/e' mostri. 



Monti at least revenged himself of Pius lor placing liim be- 
low Metastasio. 

It was but a short time afterwards that SuvarofF and the 
Austrians made themselves masters of Italy. Monti fled to 
France, and the distresses of his exile gave a new vigour and 
a dignity to his exertions. 

Mascheroni, a mathematician, much esteemed in Italy, and 
a writer of verses admired for their elegance, had distinguish- 
ed himself for his enthusiastic love of liberty, apd, what 
was much more rare, by his noble integrity of character and 
purity of manners. He also had escaped, on the same occa- 
sion, to Paris, where he died. Monti thought this a good op- 
portunity for writing another poem, which he called The 
Death of Muscheroni (In Morte di Mascheroni), on the plan 
of his Basville. The spirit of his hero is in like manner made 



274 

to traverse the earth, and in his view of the changes of Italy 
beholds the advantages of hberty and the pernicious effects of 
popular licentiousness. The political aim of this poem is 
more useful, and the subject is better handled, than in the 
Death of Basville ; but the author could not refuse himself 
the satisfaction of consigning to perpetual infamy the names 
of his demagogue persecutors. 

The Italians discover a greater variety and interest in the 
scenes presented to the notice of Mascheroni than in those of 
Basville. They think the style less pointed, but more rich 
and more graceful, and they look upon the terze rinte as less 
monotonous and more harmonious than any of his former 
specimens. The plan was equally vast with that of his first 
poem, and it was, like Basville, also stopped at the fourth 
canto : for Buonaparte became Emperor of the French and 
King of Italy, and Monti hastened to publish six cantos of 
another poem : these were to be the first part of a long work 
which he called The Bard of ihe Black Forest (II Bardo della 
^elva Nera.) 

It must be owned that the conception of this poem is vast- 
ly puerile. The author is obliged to imagine that there are 
bards who deal in verse and prophecy yet to be found by 
those who look for them; and just such a one as Caesar and 
Lucan saw in the depths of Germany is discovered by Monti 
in 1 805, hidden somewhere in the Black Forest. This bard 
has a daughter, Malvina, who is surprised into a sentimental 
passion for a French officer, who has been wounded in the 
battle of Albeck. The victories of Napoleon are chanted 
fortli by the same officer, who, it seems, succeeds in persua- 
ding the bard of the advantages of imperial despotism ; for 
he prophesies the absolute monarchy of the triumphant war- 
rior. 

This poem is in different metres ; in blank verse, in hero- 
kal and in lyrical stanzas ; a mixture which has had great 
success with us, but is far from agreeable to the Italians, who 
have been taught by Dante to run into any embarrassments 
rather than facilitate the art of poetrj . 

Monti left this poem also incomplete ; and Napoleon, to en- 
courage the continuation of a prophecy so flattering, created 



275 

him a knight of two orders, and gave him a thousand louis 
d'ors. The emperor also assigned him a pension^ and made 
him his historiographer. 

The foregoing censure of the Bard of the Black Forest 
should be accompanied with the confession that it contains 
some admirable passages. Such is the description of the 
night after a bloody battle. 

Pallido intanto an P Ahnohle rupi 
II Sol cadendo, raccogliea d'^inlorno 
Dalle cose i colori, c alia pietosa 
Motte del mondo concedea la mra / 
Ed ella del regal sua vela cterno 
Spiegando il lembo, raccendea negli astri 
La morta luce, e la spegnea sul volto 
Degli stanchi mortalL Era il hion qxicto 
De' fulmini guerrieri, e ne vagava 
Sol per la valle ilfumo atro, confuso 
Colle nebbie de'' boschi e Jc' torrenii : 
Eran quete le selve, eran delP aure 
Qiieti i sospiri J ma lugubrl e cupi 
S''udian gemiti e grida in lontananza 
Di languenti trajitti, e tin calpestio 
Di cavalli e difanti, e sotto il grave 
Peso de'' bronzi un cigolio di rote 
Che mestizia e terror mettea nel core, 

Monti, in this poem, has with his usual taste profited by the 
Ossian of Cesarotti and the French prose translation of Gray's 
odes, and of Shakspcare. He does not read English, but he 
is as ardent an admirer of our great dramatist as he is of Dan- 
te. The writer has heard him pronounce his decided judg- 
ment, that the world has produced but three poets, properly 
so called ; and Homer, with the two just mentioned, form his 
triumvirate. The two following stanzas will be seen to have 
been copied from the speech of Ulysses in Troilus and Cressi- 
da, where the necessity of a monarchy is deduced from the pre- 
eminence of the sun above the stars. 

35 



276 

DeUe stelle monarca egli s'asside 
Sul trono della luce ; e con eterna 
Unica legge il moio, e i rai divide 
Ai seguaci pianeti, e li governa. 
Per lui JVatura sifeconda e ride ; 
Per lui la danza armonica s' alterna 
Ddle stagion ; per lui nullo si spia 
Grano dipolve che vital non sia. 

E cagion sola del mirando effelto 
JS la todante tguale unica legge 
Con che U raggiante imperador I'aspetto 
Delle create cose alto correggc. 
Togli questa -unitd, togli it perfetto « 

Tenor de varj moti, onde si regge 
L^armonia dc'frenatiorbi diversi, 
E tutti li vedrai confusi e spersi. 

Monti undertook a translation of the Iliad ; and he under- 
took it, confessing that he knew nothing of Greek, but copied, 
after the literal interpretations in Latin, the various commen- 
tators, and the poetical versions of all his predecessors. He 
depended solely upon his talents for versification, and the 
charms of his style. His readers vy^ere equally confident with 
himself: and their previous persuasion secured him the first 
applauses with which his translation was welcomed even by 
the Greek scholars, who were happy to accept of so powerful 
an ally in their contest with Cesarotti. It was, however, dis- 
covered, that a translation made by one who was ignorant 6f 
the original could not be depended upon. The distrust spread 
even to those who were themselves equally unacquainted with 
the Greek text ; and the censures of the learned were heard 
and multiplied in every quarter. They have by degrees been 
pushed to an extreme equally unjustifiable with the first praises 
of this translation. Monti had heard of the simplicity of 
Homer : he wished to imitate this quality, which is so much 
eulogized, and so little capable of definition. To accomplish 
this project, he sprinkled his phrases with Italian idiotisms^ 
and he moreover was prodigal of words from the Latin, 
which, although they have a certain classical air, and are well 
chosen, expressive, and clear, and enrich the language, give^ 
however, a prosaic and pedantic air, that renders his manner 



277 

disagreeable ami dry. He has almost always faithfully jijiveO 
the meaning of Homer, hut he has lVe(|n<Mitly omiticd to lay 
hold of those rninut(> atid accessory he;mti(^s which foiin in 
laet the exclusive merit of great writers, and which, as they 
arc rather felt tlian seen, are the despair of the most expert 
traiisialor. 

Monti has given an agreeable colouring to (he pictur(^s of 
tlie Iliad ; but he has not always been sufliciently exact in hia 
repicsenlaiion of liiin, who is, as it W(!re, the rnasler of do 
sign, and tlu; father of all the great artists, lie is simple and 
ho is easy, but Ik^ is not natural : he. has nioi<; fire than 
strenglh. Il must still be allowed, Ihat (Ik^ v<m-s<'s and style 
of Monii ren<l(is bis Iliad more agreeable^ Ihan it appears ia 
the meagre translation of Salvini, or in iUv. rifaccimento of 
Cesarolti. IfcMnayat leasl pretend (o Ihe do(d)b^ nM'rit of 
having done better than otluws, and of having ex<:ited t)therH 
to do bett<'r than him. 

As to th(' geiKual method, his style, is fonnchNi upon <h(^ ex- 
quisite example furnished by Vii'gil in his imitations of the 
(Jlrecdc po(!t ; and, as far as r(^sp(M:ts the versilication, In^ has 
studi(;d the tianslation of (lu^ Kneid by Hannibal (Jaro, which 
Monti considers as tin* purt^st model of blank verse, and tlnr 
triK! depository of tlu; riches and lln^ elegance of (be llalian 
languag«'. His version, lik<^ that of his prototype, is, in fad, 
invariably tlowing, and deriv(;s its ehic^f (;xc<dl(*nc(! from 
periods well rounded, and a cadence always agreeable. The 
numbers and the ac.ccMits of each verse an; coinparaUvdif 
neglected. This manncM- of writing Hatters the ear, and is 
not so varied as to be fatiguing, but it is liable to the monotony 
which ofTends us in Ovid, and is still juore striking in a lan- 
guage more njelodious an<l h^ss sonorous than tbt; Latin, and 
whos(; h<;roic verses have not the advantage of the hexametral 
length. 

Monti has also translated Persius, and has given to him a 
clearness of idea and a softness of expn^ssion not to be found 
in the mostobscun; and the harshest of all the ancient poots. 
Vet he has rend(;r(Ml sonu; satin^s line for line, and bou!id. 
himself by the test before applied by Davanzati to Tacitus. 
This translation has reaised to b*' spoken of, «xGcj>t to cite 



*v 



278 

those notes which were composed by the author in 1803, m 
the height of his enthusiasm for repubhcs, and of his detestation 
of the vice and tyranny of the Roman Emperors. 

The talents of Monti were devoted, with a constancy pro- 
portioned to the duration of the French power, to the praise 
of Napoleon, his unwearied patron. But neither the attach- 
ment of the poet, nor the liberality of the Emperor, con- 
tributed, in the expected degree, to the reputation of the 
author or to the glory of his imperial Mecaenas. When 
Napoleon, after the battle of Jena, sent the s\Yord of Fre- 
deric II. to Paris, Monti wrote a poem in one canto, and 
called it the Sword of Frederic. But La Spado, di Federico 
had some defects, not only of composition and style, but. 
even in the versification, which the partisans of Buonaparte 
themselves could not pardon, and, accordingly, attacked with 
a success dangerous to the superiority of Monti, who ran a 
second risk of losing his pre-eminence, by a poem which he 
published two or three years afterwards, and called the 
Palingenesis. This Regeneration was the system of Pythagoras 
demonstrated in the metamorphoses produced in the world by 
the genius of Buonaparte ; and the apparent object of Monti 
was to rival the Pronea of Cesarotti. Monti had not the 
same excuse as the Paduan poet ; he was not very aged, nor 
did he write at the express order of the Emperor. But his 
Palingenesis was not more fortunate than the Pronea. 

The odes published by Monti on the usual occasions of 
victories and treaties of peace, on the marriages and the 
births of princes, and which he struck off at a heat with in- 
conceivable rapidity, are mOst of them finished to perfection. 
Even those which are on the whole but middling perform- 
ances, contain stanzas cited by the Itahans as masterpieces 
in this way of writing. 

" Lassii, dov^ anco 
II muto arriva 

Gemer del vermc che calcaio spira ; 
Del Nmnc al jianco 



279 



Siede una Diva^ 
Che chiusa in negro ammanto 
Scrive i delitti coro7iati, e aW ira 
Di Dio presenta delle genti il pianto.^^ 



The series of Monti's poems would not be completely cited 
without mentioning three of considerable length; II Prometeo, 
La Musogonia, and La Feroniade, of which he has published 
only the first cantos and some fragments. The second of 
these is an imitation of Hesiod. The allegory of Prometheus 
furnishes a clear and poetical developement of the merit and 
the perilous course of that superior order of beings who 
dedicate their lives to the enlightening of the human race, 
and displays the ingratitude of the people towards the defend- 
ers of their liberty, and the despotism which is the closing 
scene of every political drama. La Feroniade, a name bor- 
rowed from that of the nymph cited by Virgil and Horace, 
and who was one of the Roman deities that had a temple in 
the Pontine Marshes, was a poem composed for Pius VI., 
who had undertaken to drain and cultivate, and people those 
marshes. The enemies of Monti republished some passages 
of these three poems, to show that he had substituted the 
eulogy of his new protectors by the erasure of those ori- 
ginally inserted in praise of the Pope. 

The prose of Monti is distinguished for the ease, the clear-- 
ness, the harmony, and the metaphorical richness which cha- 
racterize his verses ; but the style is unequal, and now and 
then infected with Gallicisms. The poetical diction of Italy 
has, by the efforts of many great writers, retained its purity 
through the revolutions of five centuries ; but the prose has 
been subject to the changes of time, and to the invasion o( 
foreign arms and foreign literature. Monti has been lately 
occupied with a laborious work, meant to supply the void left 
by the Cruscan academicians in their dictionary, and to coun- 
teract the prejudices of the too rigorous adherents of the old 
school, and the bold dogmas of licentious innovators. It is 
thought that in this work, the offspring of his cooler reflection, 
and directed to aims more useful, he will avoid those inaccu- 
racies of haste and passion which disfigured his previous per- 
formances, and degraded them into mere personal centrover- 



280 

sies. An exception should be made in favour of two or three 
discourses, published when he was professor at Pavia. One 
of them is much praised, and perhaps not a little owing to 
the subject of which it treats, namely, Of the scientific disco- 
veries which foreigners have usurped to themselves, in prejudice 
of the Italian inventors. Monti showed his patriotism in this 
treatise, but much could not be said of his knowledge or of 
his equity. Even his eloquence was more lively than vigor- 
ous. He threw down his glove in defiance of all foreigners, 
but more especially of the French, and was backed by his 
countrymen, who have fallen into the absurdity of depre- 
ciating the present merit of other nations, by comparing it 
with the past glories of their ancestors. 

Monti has never been wise enough to laugh at silly criti- 
cisms, nor was he ever known to spare a powerless adversa-' 
ry. Having been rudely attacked, he has always defended 
himself rudely. He seems to have looked upon a censure of 
his writings as an obstacle thrown maliciously in the way of 
his fortune. In this temper he told the Abate Bettinelh, "/f 
is not the poet that these people want to attack; no, it is the 
historiographer of Napoleon ; and they conspire to make mt. 
appear in his eyes a contemptible roriter.^'^* 

He tried, therefore, to persuade the court and the ministers 
to prosecute his adversaries : but it should be told, that he 
employed the same influence in the promotion of his friends. 
Towards them Monti is truly the warmest and the most de- 
voted of men, and is ready for every generous sacrifice as long 
as he feels assured that he has no reason to suspect the loyalty 
of their attachment. 

His violent literary disputes with his distinguished cotem- 
poraries, with Mazza, Cesarotti, and Bettinelli, have all ter- 
minated by a solicitation of their friendship : and he has not 
refused to restore his confidence to others who, having griev- 
ously offended him, have entreated to be reconciled. It has 
happened to him to quarrel with, and to pardon, the same in- 
dividual several times. 

The habit of writing on temporary topics may explain, 
perhaps, the care which he takes to acquire renown by efforts 

»Lf;ttt'ra all' .\bate Bcttiaelli, Milano, 1809. 



281 

which, in the end, frequently terminate in the loss of it. He 
is afraid of the very newspaper writers, and is ambitious of 
their suffrages. He keeps up a regular correspondence with 
all the men of letters in Italy, and barters with them the 
usual commodity of mutual adulation. He is, however, sin- 
cere enough with those young writers who ask his advice, and 
contrives to encourage them without flattery, and to instruct 
them without arrogance. He repeats verses inimitably : he 
is eloquent in his conversation, which is generally of the 
softer kind ; but the slightest contradiction provokes him to 
a vehement defence of positions which he abandons the next 
day with perfect indifference. 

It is probable that the inconstancy, as well as the momen- 
tary eagerness of certain individuals, is to be attributed less 
to education than to nature. The life of Dryden can scarce- 
ly be compared in a single instance with that of Monti ; nor 
is the poetry, nor even the character of the English laureate 
at all similar to that of the Italian. The above disgraceful 
quality they have, however, in common with each other. 
Both of them have degraded the literature to which they 
owe their fame, by making it subservient to their private in- 
terests, at the expense of truth and of honour. Both of 
them have been systematic flatterers of the powerful and the 
great, and both of them have wanted the requisite consola- 
tions of old age. 

Monti had pursued the Austrians with the war of words, 
after each of their repeated defeats. When they re-appeared 
as conquerors, they deprived him of almost all his pensions . 
but they bargained at the same time for a cantata from his 
pen, which was set to music and sung in the theatre, to wel- 
come their ruturn to Italy. It is neither a hazardous nor a 
severe reflection to assert, that this poet must look back with 
feelings of bitter regret upon sixty years of laborious and 
brilliant exertions, which are about to end for ever; and 
which have left him in the enjoyment neither of an indepen- 
dent fortune nor of a spotless reputation ; nor of those fixed 
principles, without the possession of which no one can, with- 
out trembling, dare to contemplate the close of his career. 



282 

A splendid example and a warning for an apostate genera- 
tion — 

Petite hinc juvenesque senesque 
Finem animo certum, miserisque viatica canis. 

HUGO FOSCOLO. 

When the revolution of 1795 gave a shock to principles 
for ages established in Italy, and set in motion the spirits and 
the interests of the inhabitants of every province, the writers 
before mentioned had all of them published those works 
which gave them a fixed reputation with their countrymen. 

Hugo Foscolo was at that time a youth, but not too young 
to profit by the friendship and the example of his distinguish- 
ed cotemporaries. The total change in the political condi- 
tion of his countrj'^, his military education, and the part which 
lie played in public affairs, developed however his talents, and 
formed his character, in a manner quite different from that of 
his predecessors : besides, the circumstances under which he 
wrote arrived too late to form their style ; and being now 
gone by, may perhaps require a course of ages to reproduce. 

Foscolo laid it down for a principle, that Italian poetry had 
expired with Tasso, and had been rc-resuscitated only in the 
present day. Hear his own words — "Senza I'Ossian del Ce- 
sarotti, II Giorno del Parini, Vittorio Alfieri, e Vincenzo 
Monti, la nostra poesia si giacerebbe tuttavia sepolta con le 
ceneri di Torquato Tasso. Da indi in qua un secola la inor- 
pello, e 1' altro la immiscri. L' Ossian puo far dare nello 
strano ; il Parini nel leccato ; PAlfieri nelP aspro ; e il Monti 
ncll' ornato : ma le umane virtu non fruttano senza Pinnesto 
d'un vizio. I grandi ingegni emuleranno : i mezzani scimiot- 
tcrrano : e coloro che esplorano i propri meriti nelle altrui 
colpe, si gctteranno simili a corvi sovra le piaghe de' gene- 
rosi cavalli." 

This passage, extracted from his Preface to an experiment 
for translating the Iliad, printed at Brescia in 1807,* may 
serve for a specimen of his style and of his literary opinions. 

* Esperime^to di traduzione dell' Iliade. 



283 

He commenced his career a year before the fall of the Ve- 
netian republic, with a tragedy called Thycstes. Being angry 
at the little attention paid by the Venetians to the tragedies 
of Alfieri, and the corrupted taste which made them prefer 
and applaud those of the Marquis Pindcmonte and of Count 
Pepoli, he resolved that his drama should have only four 
personages ; and that the simplicity and severity of his whole 
composition should rival AlFicri and the Greek tragedians. 
With this hardy project, he contrived that his play should be 
acted on the same night when two new pieces from the pen 
of the above Marquis and Count were to be represented at 
other theatres of the same town. The courage and the 
youth of the author enabled him to triumph over his rivals, 
and his Thyestes received more applause than perhaps it de- 
served. The actors published it in the tenth volume of the 
" Teatro ItaUano Applaudito,'''' subjoining to it an account of 
its great success, and a criticism written in favour of the 
author. Foscolo himself adopted the extraordinary proceed- 
ing of publishing a severe censure of his own work, the suc- 
cess of which he attributed solely to its conformity with the 
great models of antiquity. The pamphlet was ill received by 
the pubhc, and the Venetians painted the portrait of the 
young poet in the drop curtain of the Fcnice Theatre, 
amongst those who had a better claim to this distinction. The 
Thyestes is still occasionally acted, and is sustained by the 
warmth of the dialogue, and the strength of the dramatic 
passions, but the style is so harsh as to be insupportable to 
the reader. 

The learned of Italy speak neither well nor ill of the Let- 
ters of Ortis, which, however, has been more frequently re- 
printed in his own country than any other of Foscolo's works, 
and is certainly much more known on the other side of the 
Alps. The Germans have exhausted upon this little book 
all the metaphysics of criticism : they have translated it 
twice ; and a certain professor Luden has accompanied his 
version with a whole volume of dissertations. After all, it 
is but an imitation of Werter. There is however this strik- 
ing difference, that the object of the Italian is solely pohti- 
cal. There is indeed something for all tastes in the politics, 

36 



284 

And the poetry, and the love of Ortis. The allusions to the 
dowiifal of the Venetian republic, and the introduction of 
living interlocutors, such as Parini at Milan, give a reality to 
the fahl(^ which must be highly interesting to the Italians, and 
is attractive even to strangers. There is a melancholy pa- 
triotism in every word in which he mentions Italy, that makes 
the author respectable in the eyes of every generous reader. 
There are some pictures of small objects that evince a con- 
siderable knowledge of the human heart, and are extremely 
Blfecling. The little dog of the lady who falls in love with 
Ortis may be mentioned as one. The author is in his proper 
element when he breaks forth into his ethical reflections : how 
truly he says, " That we are too proud to give our compas- 
sion when we feel we can give nothing else." 

The love of Ortis is, perhaps, the least interesting portion 
of the work; there is not importance enough attached to his 
existence, to make it natural that so nuich importance should 
be attached to his end. It was diflicult, perhaps, to give 
many attractions to the adventures of an obscure politician ; 
but it is still possible that those of an age and sex more ac- 
cessible to the tender feelings may be touched by the mis- 
fortunes and the heroic despair of the Italian Werter. But 
Ortis may boast of having been the first book that induced 
the females and the mass of readers to interest themselves in 
public adairs. This was a mighty exploit in a country where 
one maxim had been for ages the ground-work of education 
for all classes of society, De Deo parum, de Principe nihil. 
It is diflicult at this day to find in Italy an edition of the Let- 
ters of Ortis altogether exempt from those mutilations which 
the revisers of one kind or another have inflicted on this ro- 
mance. In spite, however, of all their prudent efforts, it 
has been found impossible to emasculate every page which 
launches forth invectives against the corruption of the old 
government, against the foreign usur|)ation of the new, and 
lastly against the treachery with which the F'rench general 
bought and sold the republic of Venice. 

Chiari and Piazza, and other common writers, had before 
liublished some hundreds of romances, which had been the 
delight only of the vulgar reader ; for those of a more re- 



285 

tincd taste had resorted to the foreign novels. The Letter^ 
of Ortis is the only work of the kind, the boldness of whose 
thoughts, and the purity of whose language, combined with 
a certain easy style, have suited it to the taste of evert 
reader. It cannot be too often remarked, that it is princi 
pally the style which in all works attracts the admiratioi\ of 
the Italians ; and it may here be mentioned, that their critics 
have laid it down as a rule, that the elements of their prose 
are to be collected only in the period between Dante and 
Machiavelli. This is the opinion of Alficri.* 

Foscolo has followed this rule in his Ortis, and more scru- 
pulously still in the Sentimental Journey, which he has tran- 
slated with the words and phrases of the fourteenth century : 
not, however, to the prejudice of the conversational ease of 
our Yorick. This work, so popular in all foreign countries, 
had been twice before translated into Italian ; but the tor- 
pidity of their style, and their repeated Gallicisms, had con- 
signed these preceding versions to contempt. Focolo pub- 
lished his translation under the name of Didimo Chierico : 
and in one of his many notes he gives us the following re- 
marks on his native language. " Le donnc gentUi inscg7iaro)io 
al Parroco Yorick, e ante sua Chierico, a sentire, e quindi a par- 
lare men rozzamente ; ed io per gratitudinc agginngero qiiesto 
avviso per esse. La lingua Ilaliano e un hel metallo che bisognu 
ripulire della ruggine dclP antichita, c depurare della falsa 
lega ddlamoda ^ e poscia halterlo genuino in guisa che ognuno 
possa riccverlo e spcnderlo con fulucia, e dargli tal conio che paja 
nuovo e nondimeno taiti suppiano ravvisarlo. Ma i Ictterati 
vostri non raccaltano dagll antichi se non se il rancidvme, e gli 
scienziaii vi parlano franciosamente. 1 primi non hunno mcntc, 
gli altri no7i hnnno cuorc ; e per quanti idiomi c' si sappiano, 
non avranno vmi stile. 

The preponderance of French power during the reign of 
Louis XIV. and even in that of Louis XV., had infected the 
Italian language with an infinity of French phrases and idioms. 
The consciousness of the extreme corruption induced by the 
revolution has given rise to a zealous spirit of reform, which 

* See his answer to Calsabigi, in the edition of his tragedies by Didot. 



286 

has itself degenerated into a superstitious worship of the 
ancients, and has rather augmented than diminished the li- 
cense of the opposite writers. We consequently tii^d many 
works composed solely of phrases almost or entirely obsolete, 
and distinguished neither for the energy of the old writers, nor 
for the case of the new. Others, and they are the majority, 
terrified by the study of a language, the abundance of whose 
words, and the variety of whose combinations, render it al- 
most insuperable, affect the sort of style now so common 
throughout Europe, which they are pleased to call phiiosojhi- 
cal, and which, in fact, is but a jargon neither Italian nor 
French, but a bad mixture of both. 

If, therefore, good writers are rare in all countries, they 
are more especially so in Italy ; for they have to connect the 
generic characteristics constantly inherent for five centuries 
in the Italian language, with the specific characteristics of 
their own times : and this amalgamation, not depending upon 
any fixed rules, must be contrived solely by the individual 
talents of each author. This accounts for the surprising di- 
versity which foreigners are apt to observe in the manner of 
writing employed by the various authors of the same age ; 
and perhaps this same diversity is more remaikable in the 
prose of Foscolo than of other writers. The Italian author 
also makes it an article of faith to vary his style according to 
his subject. Thus there is no less a difference between the 
letters, the romances, and the orations, than between the 
history and the epic or lyric ])oetry of these varied composi- 
tions. The Ortis and the Sentimental Journey resemble 
each other very little : notwithstanding that the author has 
followed the same rules of composition, and has always pre- 
served the traits peculiar to his style. As for his Discourse 
for the Co7igress of Lyojis, it appears evidently written by 
the same man, but in a different language. 

He wrote this Discourse at the injunction of his government, 
when Buonaparte, in the year 1801, convoked at Lyons the 
jYotablcs of the Cisalpine Republic. The directions given to 
the orator were to pronounce a panegyric ; but Foscolo 
adopted a different coun e. He presented a moving picture 
©f the wretched state of the laws, of the armies, of the 



287 

finances, and of the moral condition of the new republic. 
The sects, both old and new, that distracted their country — 
the priests, the nobles, the democrats, the partisans of foreign 
usurpation, the adulatory writers, the libelists, the defrauders 
of the public revenue, the monopolists, who profited by the 
sale of the national property, are all handled with the same 
severity. The following description of the masters of the 
republic, if it degrades the nation in one respect, exalts it on 
the other hand ; for there must be something great in a peo- 
ple which can produce a single man who dares, in the cause 
of virtue, to paint his countrymen in such colours. 

" Unmini nuovi ci governavano, per educazione ne politici, ne 
gtterrieri (^essenziali doti ne' capi delle republichc) ; antichi schiavi, 
novelli tiranni, schiavi pur seinpre di se stessi e delle circonstanze 
che ne sapeano ne voleano dornare ; fra i pericoli e V amor del potere 
ondeggianti, tutto perplessamente operavano ; regia autorita era in 
essi, ma per inopia di coraggio e d''ingegno, ne violenti ne astuti ; 
conscj de' propri vizj, e quindi diffideifti, discordi addossuiiiisi 
scambievoli vituperj ; datori di cartche, e palpati, non temuti : alia 
plebe esosi come potenii ; e come imbccilli, spregiati : convennero 
conjatanza di publico bene e libidine di pritneggiare ma ne pensiero 
pure di onore ; vili con gli audaci, auduci coi vili, spegneano le 
accuse coi benejicj e le qucrele con le minaccie ; e per la sempre im- 
minente rovina, di oro puntcllati con la fortuna, di brighe con i 
proconsnli, e di tradimenii con i principi stranieri.^' 

The chief cause of this general depravity he attributes to 
the absence of Buonaparte in Egypt, which allowed the 
French Directory to tyrannize over Italy, and to pillage her 
provinces, not only by their own missions and generals, but 
by the appointment of magistrates, timid, ignorant, and ava- 
ricious, some of whom were to be found in that government 
which had assigned to Foscolo the pleasing duties of pro- 
nouncing their panegyric* 

The praises bestowed by the orator upon the hero who was 
to remedy their national wrongs, magnificent as they are in 
some respects, are still associated with the boldest maxims, 
and with predictions which are seldom hazarded in the hour 
of victory. With what satisfaction may Foscolo now look 
back upon the following prophetic warning! 

* See his Dedication — " Ai Membri del comitato del Govemo." 



288 

'* A ciascuno di tuoi pregi la storia contrappone e Tiherio sohnnt 
politico, e Marco Aurelio Imperadore Jilosofo, e Papa Leone X. 
ospite delle lettere. Che se molti di questi sommi, scarcki non vanno 
di delitti, uornini e fnortali erano come sei tu, e non le speranze o il 
tremore rfe' contemporanei, ma la imperterrita posteritd le lor sen- 
tenze scriveva su la lor sepultura. Infiniti ed illustri esempj hanno 
santijicata oramai quella massima rfe' sapienti : niun uomo doversi 
virtuoso predi care e beato anzi la morte." 

After describing the distress of his country, the speaker, 
who calls himself Giovine non affatto libcro, proposes certain 
remedies, and those he would apply not only to Italy, but to 
maintain the renown of that hero whose future glory he de- 
clares to depend principally on the durable independence of 
a nation which he had rescued from the slavery and disgrace 
of ages. Foscolo afterwards published this Discourse, with 
the following motto from Sophocles : — " my soul groans for 

MY COUNTRY, FOR MYSELF, AND ALSO FOR THEE." 

This discourse is not more than eighty pages : and notwith- 
standing it is an historical composition, maintains a certain 
impetuosity and gravity of style which overwhelm and fatigue 
the attention. The events are hinted at, not detailed ; the 
developemcnt concerns only their causes and their results. 
This brevity might be agreeable to those who had been spec- 
tators of, or actors in, the short and transitory scene ; but 
foreign readers, and even those Italians removed by time or 
place from the original action, are left in the dark. It would 
be difficult to prove that the style of Tacitus, which Foscolo 
has not only copied but exaggerated with the devotion of a 
youth enchanted by his model, can be well adapted to this 
sort of composition. The English, who have perhaps run 
into the opposite extreme, will be astonished to hear that this 
Discourse was particularly esteemed by the critics, on ac- 
count £>f its close resemblance to the Latin. We should call 
this pedantry : but it appears a meritorious exploit in the eyes 
of a nation, which, having for two hundred years diluted its 
language to insipidity, now lays it down for a maxim, that for 
the graces of style, the early Tuscan authors are to be con- 
sulted ; and for the strength, and, if the word may be used, 
the nobility, of the language, the Latins are the only safe 



289 

model. It must be confessed, that the origin of the language 
admits of this union. It is not unnatural that when they 
would discourse of liberty, they should have recourse to the 
manner of their Roman ancestors. 

Buonaparte, at the congress of Lyons, changed the name 
of the Cisalpine into that of the Italian Republic. He ap- 
pointed himself president of this new state, and promulgated 
a constitution which he continued to violate at will up to the 
other change which converted the Republic into a Kingdom, 
and placed the administration of Upper Italy in the hands of 
a French viceroy. The only effect of Foscolo's discourse 
was to stop his own military promotion : but the loss of for- 
tune was more than compensated by the public gratitude, 
which pointed to him as the man who had spoken the sense 
of the people, who had told the courageous truth, and had 
stood forward as the champion of national independence. It 
seems, however, that he continued in the army some time 
after this effort. The date of the preface to his Sentimental 
Journey shows that he was, in 1805, at Calais with one of the 
Italian regiments which Buonaparte had united to his Army of 
England. His dedication of the works of Montecuculi, pub- 
lished in 1808 and 1809, which is addressed to General Caffa- 
relli, minister of war of the Italian kingdom, tells us that he 
was aid-de-camp to that officer. 

Foscolo published his edition of Montecuculi in two vo- 
lumes, in folio, from the manuscripts discovered in the ar- 
chives of the last Prince Trivulzio, by Serassi, the biographer 
of Tasso ; and more recently, by other inquirers. These manu- 
scripts were more complete than those of the old incorrect 
edition, made just after the death of the author, which had 
never been reprinted, and was so much forgotten that Monte- 
cuculi was known only throughout the French and German 
translations. The object of Foscolo was more than literary: 
he wished, by the example and precepts of an illustrious fel- 
low-citizen, to inspire the Italians with a portion of his mar- 
tial spirit, as well as to replace the author in his due rank 
amongst the best classical writers. He placed Montecuculi 
by the side of Machiavelli, and the compressed commanding 
style of the great rival of Turenue facilitated the labours of 



290 

his editor in tilling up the many blanks of the manuscript. 
Foscolo was commended for these supplemrnts, and for his 
happy imitation of the original style ; but he was accused of 
having been too licentious in his emendations of the text.* 

Montecuculi wrote his commentaries and his military 
aphorisms when the use of artillery was but imperfectly 
known, and when a great part both of the infantry and cavalry 
fought with pikes and halberds, and the principal object of 
every war was the attack and defence of fortified towns. Fos- 
colo illustrated his author with notes of two kinds ; some of 
them consisting of passages from the classics, serving to show 
the Greek and Roman art of war, and the others relating to 
the system of Frederic II. and of Napoleon. By this plan 
the editor meant to apply each precept of Montecuculi to the 
three principal epochs in the history of mihtary art : the an- 
cient, the middle, and the modern period. To each volume 
he subjoined dissertations written with precisely the same ob- 
ject : he calls Napoleon il ynaggiore guerriero delle eta moder- 
■ne, an eulogium which must be allowed far from extravagant, 
at the time that the two senates of France and of Italy de- 
clared him the Thunderer of the Earth, (" Jupiter foudroyant 
8ur la terre,") and all the kings of Europe confessed the title 
to be fairly earned and duly bestowed. 

The Viceroy Eugene had about this time won a battle of no 
great importance, against the Archduke John, in Hungary. 
The French chose to exalt this victory to a parallel with that 
of Montecuculi, who after two years of perseverance, and 
with an army of seven thousand men, had defeated seventy 
thousand Turks at a time when they were yet formidable in 
the field : this was at the famous battle of San Gothard. The 
bulletins observed that the Viceroy had been victorious on the 
same spot already illustrated by the exploits of Montecuculi, 
and had rivalled the skilful manoeuvres of the Italian marshal. 
Foscolo devotes one of his dissertations to refute this enco- 
mium, and proves that neither the circumstances, nor the po- 
sition, nor the place were the same ; and he concludes by 

* Ha supplito alle lacune con lo stile del Montecucoli : ma Montecucoli 
nel propria testo parla spesso con lo stile di Foscolo. See — Giornale della 
Societa d' Incorraggiamento, an. 1809. 



291 

insinuating that such exaggerations might be injurious to the 
merit actually acquired by the Viceroy. 

Foscolo was now sent as professor of literature to Pavia, 
to replace Monti, who had been appointed historiographer. 
The new professor opened his course of lectures by an essay 
on the Origin and the duties of Literature.* It was his grand 
position, that " as society could neither be formed originally, 
nor afterwards kept together, except by the use of words, 
every abuse of this distinctive human faculty must tend ne- 
cessarily to the corruption of all social ties. Consequently, 
that the men of letters, being especially endowed with the 
power of words, are traitors to their duty whenever they ne- 
glect by their writings to excite the generous passions, to de- 
monstrate useful truths, to add charms to viitue, and to di- 
rect the public opinions to the promotion of national pros- 
perity." 

He goes on to place his men of letters as independent me- 
diators between the government which applies to force alone, 
and has a natural tendency to despotism, and the people, who 
have no less a natural inclination towards licentiousness and 
slavery. He looks for the proof of these principles in the 
history of all nations ; and the more he exults in the utility 
of literature, the more he declaims against the vanity and the 
baseness both of those who sell their abilities to a tyrant, and 
of those who employ them in administering to the odious 
passions and the capricious follies of the multitude. It was 
an old and constant practice in Italy to insert an eulogy of 
the actual government in the opening discourses of every 
professor. Foscolo departed from this ceremony, and sub- 
joined a note, saying, " that it belongs to history alone to speak 
in a becoming manner of great sovereigns,''^ He then cited a 
decree of Augustus Caesar, which forbad the small poets and 
©rators to disgrace his name by their ephemeral praises. 

The professorships of literature not only at Pavia, but also 
at Bolognat and Padua, were forthwith suppressed by the 

* Deir Orisinn e dell'Ufficio (IpIIh Lefteratura.— Milano, 1809. 

f On tliis occasion the celebrated Mezzophanti, professor of Oriental 
languages, and the most extraordinsrj' linguist in existence, was deprived 
of his chair, and reduced to an income of 7!j0 fraacs. 

37 



292 

government. Many other professorships underwent the same 
fate ; namely, those for the Greek and for the Oriental lan- 
guages, for history, for the knowledge of medals, and, in 
short, for all those branches of study not strictly belonging to 
medicine, to jurisprudence, and to the mathematics. Foscolo 
retained his chair only two months ; and about twenty-four 
other professors, who had not involved themselves in the guilt 
of preaching his principles, were also deprived of their 
emoluments, after many years of literary labour. It would 
be hazardous to say whether the discourse of Foscolo pro- 
voked this measure, or whether it had been some time in 
agitation, but, at all events, the Italians were struck with the 
verification of the words of their own Alfieri, who had told 
them that absolute monarchs hate the historian, and the poet, 
and the. orator, and give preference to the sciences.* Perhaps 
it may not be uncharitable to add, that the scientific, com- 
pared with the literary writers of every nation, repay with 
corresponding submission the partiality of royal patronage. 

Padua, Pavia, and Bologna, beheld the sudden decline of 
the institutions, which had been the ancient ornament of their 
towns. Four and twenty lyceums were founded in the re- 
spective departments of the Kingdom, with the pretext of 
reinstating some of the professors ejected from the three 
universities ; but it was impossible to find a sufficient number 
of learned individuals, or adequate salaries for all these es- 
tablishments, in every branch of science, and of literature ; 
and the consequence of this dispersion, as well as of the 
multiplied foundations, was, that the place of professor was 
degraded from those high privileges and that respectability of 
character which had made it for centuries an object of Italian 
ambition. 

The Cavalier Lamberti, a declared adversary of this wri- 
ter, and one of those before alluded to, who possess the re- 
putation of great scholars, examining the works of Foscolo, 
calls them, t.nebrose per certo stile lor propria di oscuritc miste- 
riosa e d'' idee affollate e appcna accennate, a d'' eloquenza 

* See the article on Alfieri. 



293 

compressa sdegnosamente / quasi che questo autore non voglla 
per lettori che i suoi pari.^ 

Hippolitus Pindemonte reproaches him with the same de- 
fect, but in the tone more of a poet than a critic, and less of 
a censor than of a friend. " Your style," he says, " resem- 
bles the Rhone, which flows rapidly from the limpid lake of 
Geneva, and is lost under the Alps, to the regret of the 
traveller, who knows not how it has disappeared, and who 
finds himself obliged to wander on for some distance before 
he again beholds its azure current, and hears the sound of its 
rapid stream."! The political topics which have been gene- 
rally selected for the subject of his performances, have, per- 
haps, induced this writer to leave us to guess that which he 
did not like to say openly. It is, however, equally true that 
the constant intensity of thought which he requires of his 
readers must be traced either to the peculiar mode in which 
his ideas are originally conceived, or to his wish to give them 
a new turn. Indeed all his writings bear the mark of medita- 
tion, although much forethought cannot be discovered in his 
familiar conversation, in which he gives a loose to all his 
ideas as they first present themselves. A literary lady has 
described him as parlatore felicissimo e fecondo\, and this co- 
pious eloquence is accompanied with an incessant agitation of 
limb and body ; which, however, is, when he harangues in 
pubhc, converted into an absolute inactivity. It is told of 
him that he has spoken for hours at the councils of war with 
his hands fixed on the back of a chair, without indulging in 
the slightest action. 

This fact, incredible as it may be to such as have seen Mr. 
Foscolo only in private society, will not be lost upon those 
who please themselves with discriminating between the diflTer- 
ent modes of intellectual exertion, and who will be obliged to 
account for so singular a discrepancy by recollecting that 
Foscolo may have deliberately preferred this motionless elo- 
quence. The truth is, as we find in his Discourse upon Litera- 

* See — in the Milanese Review — the Poligrafo, the articles signed Y, 
\ See — Pindenionte's epistle in verse addressed to Hugo Foscolo. 
t Ritratti scritta dalla Contessa Isabella Albrizzi. 



294 

lure, that he decries the quackery of the latter orators of 
Athens by praising the more ancient speakers, who harangued 
in the manner of Pericles, wrapped up in their clamys, with- 
out gesture or melody : Peroravano avvolti, alP uso di Pericle. 
nclla clamide, scnza gesto ne melodia. 

The published poetry of this writer is confined to two odes, 
and a little work called / Sepolcri, written when it was for- 
bidden to bury the dead in family tombs. 

Pur nuova leg^e impone oggi i sepolcri 
Fuor de' guardi pietosi, e il nome a' morti 
Contende. 

According to the. provisions of this new law, all bodies, with- 
out distinction, were to be interred in public cemeteries 
without the towns, and the size of the sepulchral stone was 
prescribed, and the epitaphs were subject to the revision and 
approval of the magistrates. The aim of Foscolo in this 
poem appears to be the proof of the influence produced by 
the memory of the dead on the manners and on the inde- 
pendence of nations. 

It may be suflicient to quote a specimen which will be more 
easily understood by those who have visited the church of 
Santa Croce at Florence. 

lo quando il monumento 
Vidi ove posa il corpo di quel grande 
Che temprando lo scettro a' regnatori 
Gli allor ne sfronda, ed alle genii svela 
Di che lagriine grandi e di che sangue ;* 
E r area di colui che miovo Olimpo 
Alzd in terra a' celesii ;t e di chi vide 
Sotto V etereo padiglion rotarsi 
Pill mondi, e il Sole irradiarli immoto,\ 
Onde alV Anglo che tunta ala vi stese^ 
Sgombr6 primo le vie del Firmamento ,• 
Te heata ! gridai, per lefelici 
Aure pregne divita, epe' lavacri 
Che da suoi gioghi a te versa Apennino : 

* Macliiavelli. t Michael Angelo- 

i Galileo. ^ Newton. 



295 

lAeta delV aer tuo, veste la Ldina 

Di luce liinpidissiina i tuoi colli 

Per vendemmia festanti; e le convalli 

Popolate di case e d* oliveti 

Mille dijiori al del mandano incensi : 

E tu prima, Firenze, udiviil carme 

Che allegro V ire al Ghibellin fuggiasco ;* 

E tu i cari parenti e V idioma 

Desti a quel dolce di Calliope 'abbro] 

Che Amore in Grecia nudo, e nudo in Roma 

D' un veto candidissirno adornando 

Rendea nel grembo a Venere Celeste. 

Ma piu, beata che in un tempio accolte 

Serbi le Itale glorie (ultime forse .') 

Da che le malvietate Alpi e Valterna 

Onnipotenza delle umane sorti 

Armi, e sostanze V invadeano, ed are 

E Patria, e, tranne la rnemoria, tutto. 

This poem contains only three hundred lines, but it called 
forth pamphlets and criticisms in every shape, and from all 
quarters. The younger writers tried to imitate it : the critics 
pronounced it to have brought about a reform in the lyrical 
poetry of Italy. The academy of Brescia proposed a prize 
for the best Latin translation, and awarded their premium to 
the professor Frederic Borgno, who soon after published his 
version in hexameters, accompanied with a dissertation, a 
passage of which may be quoted to show the tone of Italian 
criticism. 

*' It is the business of lyrical poetry, properly so called, to present 
to us interesting facts so as to excite our strongest feelings, and to 
promulgate those opinions rvhich tend to the prosperity of ?iations. 
Any ten verses which do not furnish the painter with images sufficient 
to compose an historical picture, which do not shake the soul by the 
noble recollections they recal, by the generous passions they awaken, 
which do not engrave in luminous characters some useful truth upon 
the mind — these verses may, I confess, be admirable in their kind, 
but they do not belong to lyrical poetry. The prophetic portion of 
the Bible, some of the hymns attributed to Homer, Pindar, Catullus 
m his marriage of Peleus, the sixth eclogue of Virgil, the episodes 

* Pante. t Petrarch. 



296 

in the Georgics, a dozen of the odes of Horace, six of the canzoni of 
Petrarch, a few of Chiabrera, of Guidi, of Filicaja, those of Dry- 
den, and two of Gray, are really lyrical. All the other poetry of 
Petrarch, and of those called lyrical, may be justly praised, and 
may charm a greater number of readers even than those above cited, 
but it is necessary to adopt the division of Cicero, in his distinction 
between poetae lyrici et melici. Pindar belongs to the first ; Sappho, 
Anacrcon, and Siinonides, to the second.''^ 

The Italians are fond of these classifications, and indulge 
in them more than we should esteem profitable to the study 
of language. But it is also true, that their critics seldom 
praise even their favourite authors with the indiscriminate 
fury of our eulogists. Mr. Borgno subjoins to his notice of 
Chiabrera, Guidi, and Filicaja, a list of exceptions to their 
merits which might surprise a foreigner, accustomed to think 
of the name, rather than the works of their authors. Ac- 
cording to this authority, sonorous words, and a magnificence 
of verse and of phrase, are substituted by these writers for 
the requisite variety of harmony and of imagery, whilst they 
are totally deficient in the chiaroscuro of poetry, and have 
chosen subjects which either are not national, or, what is as 
bad, are totally incapable of interesting their nation. 

Mr. Borgno quotes other poetical works of Foscolo, which 
appear to be in the same style, and, amongst others, his Al- 
ceus, which describes the political vicissitudes of Italian po- 
etry from the fall of the eastern empire to the present day. 
He alludes, also, to The Graces, a poem, in three cantos. 
Both the one and the other are, however, inedited, and are 
known only by some fragments. 

The blank verses of Foscolo are totally different from 
those of any other author. Each verse has its peculiar 
pauses and accents placed according to the subject described. 
His melancholy sentiments move in a slow and measured pace, 
his lively images bound along with the rapid march of joy. 
Some of his lines are composed almost entirely of vowels, 
others almost entirely of consonants ; and whatever an Eng- 
lishman may think of this imitation of sense by sound, (a 
decried effort since the edict of Dr. Johnson), the Italian 
poet has at least succeeded in giving a different melorly to 
each verse, and in varying the harmony of every period. 



297 

It is perhaps necessary to be an Italian to feel the full 
effect of these combinations i but the scholar of every coun- 
try may perceive that Foscolo has formed himself on the 
Greek model, not only in this particular, but in other branches 
of his art. In fact he was born in the Ionian islands, as he 
himself tells us at the end of one of his odes. 

« Fra 1' Isole 
Che col selvoso dorso 
Rompoiio agli Euri, e al grande lonio il corso, 

Ebbi in quel marlaculla: 
Ivi erra ignudo splrito 
Di Faon la FanciuUa ; 
E se|il notturno Zefiro 
Blando sui flutti spira 
Suonano i liti un lamentar di lira." 

Two tragedies, the Rkciarda and the Ajax, by the same 
author, were stopped by the government after the first repre- 
sentation. They excited a great curiosity from motives not 
altogether poetical. It was reported that Moreau was his 
Ajax, that Napoleon was to figure in his Agamemaon, and that 
his holiness the Pope would be easily recognised in Chalcas, 
The known principles of Foscolo facilitated the recognition 
of these originals, who, after all, perhaps, never sat to the 
poet for their likenesses. Whatever were his intentions, he 
received immediate orders to quit the kingdom of Italy, and 
to reside in some town of the French empire. He accord- 
ingly fixed his abode at Florence, at that time a department 
of France. 

Foscolo has lived and written in a state of open war with 
the writers of the day, and the reigning political parties. It 
is not surprising, therefore, that he has been severely handled 
in publications of every kind, and particularly in the journals, 
which will be found to contain imputations against him not 
confined to his literary life. He was never personal in his 
first attacks ; and he never replied to the personalities of 
others. He even affected so complete a contempt for them 
as to republish and distribute some of the libels written 
against himself. Perhaps he is not aware that this apparent 



298 

moderation is any thing rather than a proof of his indifference 
to attack. 

In Eiigland these demonstrations of contempt would be 
suspected, and would be ridiculous : and even in Italy Mr. 
Foscolo has been justly charged with pushing them to an un- 
just exposure of men who were the most disposed to be his 
literary friends and admirers. He published nearly 300 
pages in large octavo, upon the translated elegy of Catullus, 
De Coma Berenices : the whole lucubration being a grave and 
continued irony on the verbal criticisms of the commentators. 
Some of the learned fell into the snare ; and Foscolo, who 
had issued only a few copies, now added a Farewell to his 
readers, in which he repays their praises by exposing the 
mysteries and the abuses of the philological art. Those 
whoin he had deceived must have been not a little irritated 
to find that his frequent citations were invented for the occa- 
sion, and that his commentary had been purposely sprinkled 
with many of the grossest faults. Neither the merit nor the 
success of such a pleasantry can be intelligible to an English 
reader : but it should be told that Foscolo, with the same pa- 
triotism which seems the devouring passion of his soul, con- 
trived this deception partly to warn the commentators that it 
Avas their duty also, as well as that of other writers, to devote 
themselves to the excitement of generous sentiments in the 
bosom of their countrymen.* 

Foscolo is an excellent scholar : his knowledge of Greek 
is far superior to that of many of his most distinguished fel- 
low-countrymen : he writes Latin with facility and elegance. 
A little book in that language, called Didjmi Clerici Prophetcs 
Minimi Hypercalypscos^ liber singularis, has been attributed, 
and, it is beheved, justly, to his pen. It appears to be a sa- 
tire against the journalists, the learned pensioners of the 
court, the Royal Institute, and the senate of the kingdom of 
1 taly ; but it is an enigma from beginning to end to any one not 
furnished with the key to the individual allusions. This ob- 
scurity showed at least, that he did not care to engage the 

* See — La Cliioma di Berenice, Milano, 1803. La Bibliotheque Jta- 
lianne, a French rp\ iew, published at Turin, and II Diario Italia/no (or No- 
vember and December of the same year. 



299 

multitude on his side, and that he was indifferent as to the 
dispersion of his own feehngs of contempt for the men of 
letters of the Itahan court. 

The lady whose opinions have been before quoted, talks of 
the literary intolerance of Foscolo as the offspring of his re- 
flection, not of his disposition. "A warm friend, but sincere 
as the mirror itself, that neither deceives nor conceals. Kind, 
generous, grateful ; his virtues appear those of savage nature, 
when seen in the midst of the sophisticated reasoners of our 
days. He would tear his heart from his bosom, if he thought 
that a single pulsation was not the unconstrained and free 
movement of his soul."* 

Although Foscolo had studied under Cesarotti, and had 
been encouraged by the voice of that generous master, he 
loudly disapproved of the translation of Homer, and more 
decidedly still of the Pronea. He was a long time nearly 
connected with Monti, who frequently mentions him with 
applause ; and, in his illustrations of Persius, foretells that his 
young friend will, one day or the other, be the first poet of 
the age. In the last years of the French government, an 
intimacy with Foscolo was not favourable to court promotion. 
Monti and the future Corypheus of the poets became cool to 
each other, and would not willingly meet in the same society ; 
but either reciprocal fear, or the memory of their ancient 
alliance has not allowed any written attack from either ad- 
versary. An Englishman wished, when at the Scala theatre 
at Milan in 1816, to give the Death of Ortis as a subject for 
an improvisatore ; but a friend said to him, " It will not he 
chosen : Monti is behind the scenes, andzoill hear nothing said in 
favour of Ortis or of Foscolo.'''' The same influence, joined 
to that of the police, was pronounced fatal also to the Jipo- 
theosis of Alfieri.f There is a story current respecting the 
last interview of these two poets, which may illustrate and 

* Intollerante pik per reflessione che per naiura : amicofervido ; ma sin- 
cero come lo specchio, che non inganna, ni iihide. Pietoso, generoso. rico- 
noscente. pare wi. sehaggio in mezzo d'flosofi ie' nostri d) Si strapperebbe 
il cuore dal petto se liberi non gli paresseio i risalti tuiti del suo cuore. See 
— Ritratti scritti dal la Contessa Isabella Albrizzi- 

i See— note to Stanza LIV. of Cbilde HaivijcU Ganto IV. 

38 



300 

contrast the character of both. They were dining at the 
house of Count Veneri, minister of the public treasury : 
Monti, as usual, launched out against Alfieri, according to the 
court tone of the day: "All his works together," said he, 

" are not worth a song of Metastasio's" " Stop there, &>," 

interrupted Foscolo, " or Ixoill twirl round you and your party 
as zoell as ever top was whipped by a schoolboy.^'' As far ai» 
respects his other great cotemporaries, he has never spoken 
of Pindemonte but with esteem, nor ever names Alfieri with- 
out admiration. The instructions he received from Parini 
have mingled a tender recollection with the reverence witli 
which he dwells upon his character, in the letters of Ortis. 

In spite of his opposition to the French, and of his repeated 
declaration, that the representative rights belong only to the 
landed proprietors, it is easy to discern that Foscolo is a 
pupil of the Revolution. In truth, he imputes the misfor- 
tunes of Italy to the cowardice, the ignorance, and the ego- 
tism of the nobles. He owes his popularity rather to his con- 
duct than to his maxims, or even to his works ; for the first 
are not qualified to obtain the favour of the majority, and the 
second are above the common class of readers. 

The admirers of Napoleon may behold in this author a re- 
bellious subject, but a sincere eulogist wherever he has thought 
fit to praise. The truth is, that Napoleon conferred upon 
Italy all the benefit that a country divided and enslaved could 
possibly expect from a conqueror. To him she owed her 
union ; to him, her laws and her arms : her new activity, and 
her recovered martial spirit, were inspired by his system. 
But Foscolo was a citizen of the Venetian republic which Na- 
poleon destroyed, and there exist in Italy a very numerous 
class, who consider the independence of their country as the 
first indispensable step towards her regeneration. Foscolo, 
as well as some others, who, when the Italian republic wa* 
degraded into a subsidiary kingdom, were named amongst the 
electoral colleges, contrived never to attend, because he 
would not take the oath of allegiance. But he did not find 
it impossible to live under the dominion of the French. The 
Austrians in their turn required from him personally an oath 
of fidelity to their Emperor. Foscolo refused to them what 



301 

he would not grant to Napoleon. But he could not breathe, 
under their depressive system. He became a voluntary 
exile, and his adieus to his countrymen are couched in the 
language of proud resignation. Let not the minister of the 
Austrian police continue to persecute me in my Siviss asylum ; 
tell him that I am far from wishing to excite the hopeless pas- 
sions of my fellow citizens. We mere in want of arms ; they 
were given to us by France, and Italy had again a name 
amongst the nations. In the access of our inflammatory fever, 
the loss of hhod could not harm us, and the death of a single 
man 7vould have inevitably produced changes favourable to all 
the nations who should have courage to profit by the happy junc- 
ture. But it was ordained otherwise : the affairs of the ivorld 
have been turned into another and an unexpected channel. The 
actual disease of Italy is a slow lethargic consumption, she will 
soon be nothing but a lifeless carcass ; and her generous sons 
should only weep in silence, without the impotent complaints and 
the mutual recrimination of slaves * 



CONCLUSION. 



It is hoped that the preceding pages may have furnished a 
general notion of the state of literature in Italy during the 
last fifty years. More extensive limits would have comprised 
more copious extracts from the cited authors, would have no- 
ticed other writers, and would have included not only a view 
of the education of the Italians, but of their style and taste, 
and present productions in all the branches of literature ; lit- 
tle indeed has been done in comparison of what remains to do, 

* Senza querele impotentif ni recriminazioni da Servi. This was in- 
serted in the Lugano Gazette, for April 14, 1815, in an article written to 
answer a book with the title Memoria storica delta Rivoluzione di Milanoi 
seguito il 20 Aprile 1814, Panzi 1815. Published by some senators of 
the kingdom of Italy. 



302 

but on the reception of what has been aheady ofiered will 
depend whether any thing more shall be attempted. A great 
question at this moment divides the learned world in Italy into 
the partisans of clasical poetry, and of the poetry of romance. 
The first, of course, range Homer in the front of their battle ; 
and the others, who have adopted the division of Madame de 
Stael, and talk of a literature of the North, and a literature 
of the South, have still the courage to depend upon Ossian 
for their principal champion. The first would adhere solely 
to the mythology of the ancients ; the other paqj^y would ba- 
nish it totally from all their compositions. It would not be 
very difficult to state tlie true merits of this idle inquiry, on 
the decision of which may, however, depend the turn taken by 
the literature of the next half century. But this also must be 
left for another opportunity. In the mean time it may be al- 
lowed to mention, that the Italians themselves are far from 
ungrateful to those foreignei*s, especially the English, who 
evince a desire to be acquainted with their literature : but 
that they are for the most part surprised at our original mis- 
conceptions, and do not a little complain of the false impres- 
sions communicated by the ignorance of tl\ose, even amongst 
their expatriated countrymen, who have presumed to be our 
instructors. 



APPENDIX. 



No. I. 
TASSO. 



The public library at Ferrara, founded in 1740jby JosepL 
Carii, a rich citizen of that town, contains the following auto- 
graphs, jealously preserved in the sam«e compartment which 
holds the chair and inkstand of Ariosto. 

1. The Jerusalem. 

2. The Orlando, an imperfect copy. 
i. One of the satires of Ariosto. 

4. His comedy, La Scolastica. 

5. The Pastor Fido. 

6. A small octavo of fifty-three pages of rime, with the de- 
dication " Alle Signore Principesse di Ferrara." In this au- 
tograph of Tasso's there is scarcely a word scratched out. 
The poems open with 

" Due Donne Amor m' offerse illustri e rare.'' 

There are variations from the Florence and Venice editions 
of these rhymes, which perhaps might make it worth vdiile to 
publish them from this manuscript. 

7. Fifteen Letters, of which thirteen are Ariosto's, written 
cither in his own name, or in that of Alcssandra Strozzi, and 
all of which have been published in (he duodecimo Venice 
edition, in 6 vols. The remaining two are in the handwriting 
of the lady, and one of them, with a postscript of Ariosto's, 
has been published in Baruffaldi's life of that poet ; the 
other letter has never been published, nor contains any 
thing curious. • 

Lastly, Eight Letters, written by Tasso when in the hos- 
pital of St. Anna, together with a testamentary memoir, 
written when he set out on his journey to France. The let- 
ters, with the exception of one which appeared in the Poli- 
grafo, a periodical work, edited at Milan during the reign of 
Napoleon, have, it is believed, never been published. They 



304 

do not establish any new facts, but are not altogether devoid 
of interest. A translation of one of them has been already 
inserted amongst these Notices. There is also a copy of 
Terses, beginning 

" Gentilezza di saiigue e gloria antica," 
which has been before published. Serassi mentions the will 
as having been in the possession of Barutfaldi of Cento, and 
as being na longer in the library belonging to the nephew of 
that learned person. It thus appears that the biographer had 
never see.i the original, and it is certain that he followed an 
imperfect copy, for he has omitted the postscript or reference, 
which is interesting so far as it illustrates the scanty wardrobe 
of the poet, and consequently the mean patronage of the 
house of Este. On this account the reader may not object 
to see an exact copy of the memorial, notwithstanding the 
translation of an imperfect one has been already presented 
to him by a late English author. 

A didiculty has suggested itself to Serassi respecting the 
date of the will, which he contends cannot be that of the 
copy which he followed, for Tasso had letlt Ferrara before 
J 573, the year marked in the printed document : the date 
preferred by the biographer is 1570. The fact is, that the 
manuscript is written on a double sheet of paper, of which 
the will itself occupies the two sides of the first half sheet, 
and the epitaph on his father, and the reference to the goods 
in pawn, arc on the third opposite page. The date is at the 
bottom of the second page, and having been worn away 
from the doubling of the sheet, the fourth ligure cannot be 
deciphered. 

THE WILL. 

Benche la vita efrale, se piacesse alS' Iddio disporre altro 
di mr in questo viaggio di francia, sia pregato il Sig" Her- 
rolo Rondinolli a jirendcr cura d' alcune mie cose ; e prima 
in qtianlo alle mie compositioni procuri di raccogliere i mici 
sonetti amorosi, e i madrigali, e gli mandi in luce ; gli altri 
o amorosi o in altra materia, c' ho fatti per servigio d' alcuno 
amico, desidcro che restinosepolti con esso meco, fuor che 
quel solo. " Hor che 1' aura mia dolce alterne spira." L' 
(Matione rh' io feci in Ferrara nel principio dell' academia 



305 

havrei caro che fosse vista, et similmente quattro libri del 
poema heroico. Del Gottifredo i sei ultimi canti, e de' due 
primi quelle stanze che saranno giudicate men ree, si vera- 
mente che tutte queste cose siano reviste et considerate, pri- 
ma dal Sig*". Scip. Gonzaga, dal Sig"'. Domenico Veniero, e 
dal Sig""^. Batt**. Guarino, i quali per P amicitia e servitu ch' 
io ho con loro, mi persuado che non ricuseranno questo fasti- 
dio. Sappiano pero che mia intentione sarebbe che troncas- 
sero e risecassero, senza risparmio tutte le cose ch' o men 
buone o soperchie giudicassero ; ma nel aggiungere o nel 
mutare andassero piu ritenuti, non potendosi questo poema ve- 

dere se non imperfetto DelP altre mie compositioni, 

*' al suddetto Sig°'. Rondinelli, et a prefati sig". alcuna ne 
parebbe non indegna d' essere vista, sia loro libero P arbitrio 
di disporne ; le mie robbe che sono in pegno presso Abram 

, per XXV lire, et sette pezzi di razzi che sono in pegno 

per 13 scudi appresso il Sig°'. Ascanio, e quelle che sono in 
questa casa, desidero che si vendino e del sopravanzo de di- 
nari se ne faccia uno epitafio a mio padre, il cui corpo e in San 
Polo ; et P epitafio sara P infrascritto ; et s' in alcuna cosa 
nascesse qualche impedimento, ricorra il Sig""". Hercole al fa- 
vor delP Ecc"*. Mad*. Leonora, la qual confido che p' amor 
mioglienc sara liberale. 

Io torq tasso scrissi. fer''. 

157 

Bernardo taxo (Principum nego''^*) Musarum ocio et Prin- 
cipum negotiis sum a ingenii ubertate atque excellentia pari 
fortunae varietate ac inconstantia relictis utriusque industriae 
monumentis clariss°. torquat\ filius posuit. vixit an F^ptvia- 
ginta et sex. obi an. 1569. die 4° Septcmb. 

Robbe che son presso Abram in via Cussa. 

Due padiglioni. 

Due colore turchesche guarnite di xendallo. 

Un tornaletto di Razzo. 

Due anteporti. 

* Principum nego^^'. These words are struck out in the MSS. Tasso 
thought better of the Muses than the Prince?, and changed the prece- 
dence. 



306 



M. R^. mio Oss"". 

Nel foglio giunto temo, che vi sia 
corso un' error di penna, ma non ne sono ben sicuro : comun- 
que sia, avertite che si legga cosi, e che non esca altra- 
mente. 

Se la fehcita e premio, 1' infelicita e pena : Ma la felicita 
e premio intrinseco della virtu. Dunque P infelicita e pena 
interiore del vitio. E mi vi raccomando. Di S. Anna il xxvi. 
di Giugno. 



Di V. S. Ser^ il Tasso. 



Al M*^ R". mio Col""". 
Don Gio. Bat*'. Lioinio. 



307 



Veiy Reverend my very Respectable. 

In the sheet which is arrived I fear that 
there is an error of the pen, but I am not quite sure of it : 
however it may be, take care that it is read thus, and that 
it is not pubhshed otherwise. 

" If happiness is a reward, unhappiness is a punishment : 
but happiness is the intrinsic reward of virtue ; then unhap- 
piness is the internal punishment of vice :" and I recommend 
myself to you. 

From St. Anna, the 26"" of June. 
From your servt. 



Tasso, 



To the very reverend my very venerable 
Don Giovanni Batt'*. Licinio. 



39 



308 



M. Mag"-". 8ig^ mio Ossni„. 

Non posso acquetar 1' animo, s' io 
non sono certo del vostro buono stato : pero vi prego che me 
ne diate aviso, e se come io credo sete risanato, mi farete 
piacere a venire a vedermi : cosi piaccia a la Providenza del 
Sig""®. Iddio, d' averci in protettione. 

Di S. Anna il x di Sett'^ del 1584. 

Di. V. S. 

Aff"". Ser*. Torq'°. Tasso. 

Al M. Magn*"". Sig^ mio 

Oss'"°. il Sig"". Luca Scalabrino. 



309 



Very magnif. and my respect : le Signor. 

I cannot set my mind at ease, if I am not sure 
of your well-being : therefore I pray you to give me informa- 
tion concerning it, and if, as I believe, you are recovered, 
that you will do me the pleasure to come and see me : may it 
please the Providence of the Lord God, to keep you in his 
protection. 

S*. Anna, the 10* of September, 1584. 

Of your Worship 
The most affect, serv*. Torq. Tasso. 

For the very Magn. my Lord, 
the very respectable Signor 
Luca Scalabrino.* 



"^ No inquiry has been able to discover who this Scalabrino was. 



3id 



M. Mag**. Sig"- 



Mando a V. S. cinque camice le quali han- 
no tutte bisogno d' essere racconcie : Le dia al suo parente : 
e P avertisca, che non vorrei che fosser mescolatecon 1' altre : 
e mi verra* fare piacere di venire un giorno seco a parlarmi : 
frattanto aspetto quella risposta, che V. S. mi promise di sol- 
lecitare, ne dia ricordo a 1' amico, e le bacio le mani. Di S. 
Annail 4 di Gen^°. del 1585. 



Di V. S. 
S^ certiss™". Torq'°, Tasso. 



Se non puo venir col parente venga solo, 
c' ho bisogno di parlarle : e faccia 
lavare il drappo nel quale sono invi- 
luppate le camice. 



Al M'" . Magn^°. Sig'*. 
II Sig®. Luca Scalabrino. 



* Thus in the MSS. 



311 



Very Magnificent Signor, 



I send your lordship Jive shirts, all of which 
want mending. Give them to your relation; and let him* 
know that I do not wish them to be mixed with the others ; and 
that he will gratify me by coming one day with you to see me. 
In the mean while I wait for that answer which your lordship 
promised to solicit for me. Put your friend in mind of it. I 
kiss your lordship's hand. 



Of your Worship 
The very faithful servant, 

Torquato Tasso. 

From S. Anna, the 4th of Jan. 1585. 

If you cannot come with your relation, come alone. I 
want to speak to you. And get the cloth washed in which the 
shirts are wrapped up. 

To the very Magnificent Signor, 
The Signor Luca Scalabrino. 



* Or her- 



312 



Molto Mag-^'. Sig^\ come Fratello. 

Scrivo a 1' Illmo Sfg*. nostro padrone : e 
gli raccomando il negotio de la mia vita, pero credo che non 
abbia alcun bisogno di ricordo : il ricordo nondimeno a voi 
medesimo : e mi vi raccomando. Da Ferrara il xi d' Aprile 
del 1585. 

Di V. S. 

come Fratello P. Scr'S Torq*°. Tasso. 



Al molto Mag*^. Sig'. Giorgio 
Alessio mio Oss"". 



318 



Very Mag^ Signer and dear as my Brother. 

I write to the Most Illustrious Lord our master : 
and I recommend to him the business of my life — however I 
believe that he has not any need of a remembrancer : never- 
theless I remind you yourself of it : and I recommend myself 
to you. 

From Ferrara, the ll^** of April, 1585. 

Of your Worship, 

The Brother to serve you, Torq'°. Tasso. 

To the very Mag. Sig". George 
Alessio, my most respectable. 



314 



illmo. e Rmo. Sig. e Pro", mio Colmo. 



Dopo la prigionia, e 1' infermita di molti anni, 
se le mie pene non hanno purgato gli errori, almeno la cle- 
meiiza di V. S. Illma puo facilimente perdonarli ; laonde io 
stimo, che la sua benignita mi faccia piu lecito di supplicare 
arditamente, che non suol fare la mia calamita. La suplico 
dunque che non consenta a si lunga ostinazione de gli Uomini, 
ne voglia, che dia fine a la mia grave miseria la morte, ma la 
pieta : e quantunque cio le fosse piu facile ne lo stato de la 
Chiesa, che in alcuno altro : nondimeno in questo di Ferrara 
non le sara difficile : perche il Ser"'°. Sig'. Duca non mi tiene 
in alcuna sua prigione, ma ne' lo Spedale di S. Anna : dove, 
i frati e i preti posson visitarmi a voglia loro, ne sono impediti 
di farmi giovamento. E'l cenno di V. S. Illma. potrebbe 
esser Legge a tutti non che ammonitione : Oltredicio puo 
giovarmi in diverse maniere co' suoi Bolognesi medesimi : et 
in ciascuna d' esse mostrarmi la sua bonta congiunta a 1' 
autorita : et in ciascuna, obbiigarmi alia sua Casa, et a se 
stessa perpetuamente. Ma forse io non la supplico ardita- 
mente come havea detto, e come dovrei : perche non basta 
la sanita, senza la Hberta ; e P una, scompagnata da 1' altra 
sarebbe assai piccol dono di cosi gran Cardinale. Adunque 
le chiedo insieme. E benche sia quasi disperato di risanare, 
nondimeno i salutiferi medicamenti, e gli efficaci rimedii, e 1' 
allegrezza di vedermi libero potrebbono ritornarmi nel primo 
stato : ma sopratutto la gratia di N. S'*. e di V. S. Illma. e la 
quale non dico il modo come possa farlo : perche la prudenza 
glie le manifesta e 1' alto grado glie le agevola — ma le scopro 
il bisoguo, e la necessita, e 1' infelicita degna di ritrovar com- 



315 



Most Illustrious and most Rev. and my most respectable 

Lord. 

After my imprisonment, and the infirmity of 
many years, if my pains have not purged away my errors, at 
least the clemency of Your Most Illustrious Lordship may 
easily pardon them : therefore I think that your benignity 
will make it allowable to ask with more courage, than my 
calamity is wont to assume — I supplicate you, then, that you 
will interpose against the long and cruel perseverance of some 
men, nor suffer that death alone should be the close of my 
heavy sufferings — let them rather be terminated by compas- 
sion; for although that might be more easy to you in the 
territory of the Church, than in any other ; nevertheless, in 
this of Ferrara it will not be very difficult : because the Most 
Serene Lord Duke does not detain me in any of his prisons, 
but in the Hospital of St. Anna, where the brothers and the 
priests may visit me at their pleasure, and are not prevented 
from administering to my wants. Besides, a hint from Your 
Most Illustrious Lordship would be not only an admonition, 
but a law to all : in addition to which, you may assist me in 
different ways amongst your Bolognese themselves ; and in 
each demonstration of kindness give me a proof both of your 
goodness and of your authority ; and moreover lay me under 
perpetual obligations to yourself and to your house. But 
perhaps I do not ask you with courage, as I had said I would, 
and as I ought to do ; for health is not enough without liberty, 
and the one unaccompanied by the other would be a very small 
gift from so great a Cardinal. I ask, then, for both at once. 
And though I almost despair of being cured, nevertheless, 
salutary medicines, efficacious remedies, and the joy of 
finding myself free, might restore me to my former condition ; 

40 



316 

passione ne 1' animo suo religiosiss"". : e le bacio humiliss**. 
le mani. Di Ferrara il xii d' Aprile del 1585. 
Di V. S. Illma. 
Humiliss™°. Ser". Torquato Tasso. 
AH' 111'"'', et Rmo. Sig". e 
Padron mio Colendiss". 
il Sig^ Cardinal Bon 
Compagno 

Roma. 



317 

but I account above all the favour of our Lord (the Pope) 
and of your most Illustrious Lordship ; although I do not tell 
you the nrianner in vi^hich you may perform it; because it will 
be suggested by your prudence, and made easy by your high 
rank. All that I venture to disclose is, those wants, and that 
misfortune, which are truly worthy of awakening the com- 
passion of your most religious soul : and I most humblj 
kiss your hands. 

Of your most Illust. Lordship, 

The most humble servant, 

Torquato Tasso. 
Ferrara the 12th of April, 1585. 

To the most Illust. and most 

Rev. and my very venerable 

Patron, the Lord Cardinal Bon 

Compagno. Rome. 



318 



M. Mag'". Sig'. mio Ossmo. 

Supplicai 1' altro giorno al Ser®. Sig*". Duca di 
Ferrara : che mi facesse gratia di molte cose, e particolar- 
mente di rendermi le mie robe. Le quali fosser consegnate 
a Don Giovan B**. et a voi : ne debbo dubitare, da S. Altezza 
la gratia, ch' e molto picciola a la sua clemenza, et a la mia 
calamita : pero vi piaccia di parlarne al Sig^. Crispo, et al 
Sig'. Cole"°. : hora vi mando per Don Gio : Batta. Licinio 
cinque lettere d' opp"' : e di risposte. Le quali vorrei, che 
si stampassero con I'Apologia — non vogliate vi prego man- 
carmi della vostra promessa : e questo vi scrivo non per dub- 
bio, ch' io n' abbia ; ma per desiderio d' un altro anello. 
Serbate per 1' ultimo foglio la ded°®. et amatemi. Di S. 
Anna il vii di Maggio del 1585. 

Di V. 
Ser*^. il Tasso. 

Pes. mio nipote vorrebbe una beretta, fate che le sia fat- 
ta : che de I'anello parlero poi. 

Al Molto Mag'°. Sig«. 
mio Oss""". II Sige. 
Luca Scalabrino. 



^ 



319 



My very magnificent and respectable Signor, 

I entreated, the other day, the most Serene 
Lord Duke of Ferrara, that he would grant me sundry fa- 
vours, and particularly that he would restore to me my goods, 
so that they might be consigned to Don Giovanni Battista 
and to you : nor ought I to doubt of receiving from his High- 
ness this favour, which is but a very small one, both in pro- 
portion to his clemency, and to my calamity ; therefore be 
pleased to speak of it to Signor Crispo, and to the Signor, 
my other respectable friend. I now send you for Don Gio- 
vanni Battista Licinio five letters of objections, and of an- 
swers, which I should wish to be printed with the apology : 
do not, I pray you, fail in your promise to me : I write 
this to you, not from any doubt, but from the desire of ano- 
ther ring. Keep the dedication for the last sheet, and love 
me. 

From your Servant, 

Tasso. 
St. Anna, the 7th of May, 1585. 

Postscript. — My nephew wants a cap ; get one made for 
him : I will speak to you about the ring afterwards. 

For my very magnificent and re- i 

spectable Signor, the Signor 
Luca Scalabrino. 



320 



M. Mag<=^ Sig^ mio Oss"'. 

To diedi i Mesi passati a V. S. un libro del 
Sig*. Alessandro Gendaglia : nel quale crano alcuni mic con- 
cieti, hora ha mandato un suo a dimandarlomi. LaoniJe vi 
prego, che glie le diate : et havendo qualche risposta de 1' 
Illmo. Patriarca Gonzaga, mi farete piacere di porta ^Sami 
senza indugio e vi bacio le mani. Di S. Anna il p""^. di 
Dicem^'. del 1585. 

Di V. S. 
Ser^ Torq'o. Tasso. 

Al M'°. Mag". Sig^. 
mio Oss""". il Sig^ 
Luca Scalabriuo. 



321 



Very magnif. and respect. Signer. 

I gave, during the last months, to your Wor- 
ship a book of the Signor Alessandro Gendaglia, in which 
were some thoughts of my own : he has now sent a person 
to ask me for it. Therefore, I pray you, that you will give 
it to him : and when you have any answer from the Most 
Illustrious Patriarch Gonzaga, you will do me a favour to 
bring it to me without delay, and I kiss your hands. 

From your Worship's Servant, 

Torq. Tasso. 
St. Anna, the 1st of December, 1585. 

For the very magnificent my 
Sig°. the respectful Sig°. 
Luca Scalabrino. 



322 



lUmo. Sig*. e Padron mio Oss""*. 

Mandai a V. S. Illma. queste settimane pas- 
sate cinquanta scudi d' oro : et moneta perch' io non li posso 
tener sicuri : e credo, che 1' Sig®. Luca Scalabrino ; al quale 
io gli diedi li mandera a buon ricapito : non dico altro, se non 
ch' in questa camera c' e un folletto ch' apre le Casse e toglie i 
danari : benche non in gran quantita ma non cosi piccola, che 
non possa discomodare un povero come son io. Se V. S. 
Illma. vuol* farmi questa gratia di serbarmeli, me ne dia 
aviso e frattanto ch' io provedo d' altro sia contenta, di pig- 
liarli e le bacio le mani. Di S. Anna li 9 di Dic"^^. del 1585. 

Di V. S. R"°. 
Aff^°. Ser^ Torq". Tasso. 

All' Illmo. e Rmo. Sig*. 
e Pron mio Colmo. II 
Sig. Patriarca Gonzaga. 
Roma. 



* In the original MSS. the u and v are indiflferently used. 



323 



Most illustrious Signor, and my very respectable Lord, 

I sent your most illustrious Lordship, these few 
-weeks back, fifty crowns in gold, because I cannot keep thena 
safely myself : and I presume that the Signor Luca Scala- 
brino, to whom I gave them, will see them conveyed safe to 
hand : I shall only say, that in this room of mine there is a 
demon that opens the boxes, and takes out the money : in no 
great quantity, indeed ; but not so little as not to incommode 
a poor fellow such as I am. If your most illustrious Lordship 
will do me this favour to take care of them for me, let me 
have advice of it, and whilst I provide otherwise, perhaps 
you will have no objection to take them into your keeping. 
I kiss your hands. 

Gf your very Rev. Lordship, 

The affectionate servant, 

Torquato Tasso. 

From St. Anna, the 9th of December, of the year 1585^ 

To the most Illustrious and most 
Rev. Lord, and my very re- 
spectable Patron, the Lord Pa- 
triarch Gonzaga. 

Rome. 



41 



324 



No. II. 
RIENZI. 

TiRABoscHi* has given Rienzi a place amongst the re- 
storers of literature ; but he seems never to have seen some 
specimens of the tribune's composition existing in the royal 
library at Turin. Indeed the Abbe de Sade appears to be 
the only compiler, who has consulted these manuscripts, and 
he transcribes such only as relate to Petrarch. The con- 
tinuer of Baronius cites letters of Rienzi amongst the secret 
epistles of the Vatican, but cannot be inferred to have seen 
a copy of the Turin papers.! By a strange fatality the acts 
of the Roman tribune have been preserved in the annals of a 
monastery at Liege. J The Canon Hocsemius has supplied us 
with three documents which are to be found also in the Turin 
manuscripts, and with two others which are not in that col- 
lection. Hocsemius was cited and translated by Du Cerceau,§ 
and Du Cerceau was consulted by Gibbon, who does not ap- 
pear to have referred to the original. Neither the one nor 
the other knew any thing of the existence of these letters, 
which, although they are not the original acts, and although 
the collection whence they" were transferred to the library is 
unknown, are undoubtedly authentic. As they relate to a 
very singular personage, and afford a curious specirnv-n of 
the style in which a revolutionary leader addressed the Ro- 

* Storia della Lett. torn. v. lib. ii. p. 31 .S. et seq. edit Moden 1775. 

t Rayaaldiis coiitin Baronii ad an. 1347. num. xiii.xiv. tt sf'j. toni. vi. 
p. 442. et seq. edit. Lucse, 1750. 

t Gesta Poiitificum. Leodiens. scripserunt auctores Leodii aiino 1618. 
torn. ii. Joan. Hocsemii ('anon Leod. cap. xxxv. Mmiranda de J^J'icolao 
Jilio ciijusdam molendarii Tribuno Romana urbis affe.do, p 494 ei seq. 

^ Conjuration de Nicolas Gahrini dit de Ritiizi Tyian de Rome en 
1347, onvrage posthume uu R. Pere Du Cerceau de la compagnie de 
Jesus a Paris, 1733. 



325 

mans of the fourteenth century, they are now for the first 
time published, together with the three papers of which the 
Canon of Liege has also furnished a copy. The original has 
been followed literally, and those words which are most 
doubtful have been printed in italics. A translation, in which 
the sense may not perhaps have been always divined with 
equal success, has been confronted with the Latin Papers. 
It will be seen from these letters that Rienzi, hke Cromwell, 
adopted a spiritual tone in his official discourses ; and by no 
means openly, or, at least, in the first instance, declared 
against the authority of the Pope. The Abbe de Sade has 
argued at length against the supposed citation of the Pope by 
Rienzi, when the tribune commanded the rival Emperors to 
appear before his tribunal ; but the continuer of Baronius 
seems to have seen proofs of that temerity in the \ atican, 
and has published the excommunication of Rieuzi by Clement 
VL The Liege annals contain a long letter from Rienzi to 
Raynaldo de' Ursi, Papal notary, excusing himself for the 
irregularities of his conduct on the day of his knighthood, 
and defending the bathing in Constantine's Vase, and the 
other arrogant or puerile ceremonies which had alienated the 
afifectiou of liis former admirers. 



326 



TRIBUNUS SENATDI POPULOQUE ROMANO. 

Exultent in circuitu vestro montes, induantur colles gaudio, 
et universe planities, atque vestra Romana civitas, et valles 
pacem germinent, ubertate fcRCundentur, et eterna laetitia re- 
pleantur. Resurgat Romana civitas diuturne prostracionis a 
lapsu, solium solifp majestatis ascendens, vestitus viduitatis de- 
ponat et lugubres, sponsalem induat purpuram, liberum diade- 
ma caput exornet, colla manilibus muniat, resumat justitie 
sceptrumj ac totis circumfiilta, et renovata virtutibus, tanquam 
sponsa ornata, se placituram sponso suo exhibeat. Exciten- 
tur sacerdotes ejus, et proceres, seniores ejus, et juvenes ma- 
trone, pupilli simul et virgines, omnisque Romanus exercitus 
in voce salutis attonitus, flexis in terram genibus, fixis in coelum 
oculis, palmis ciectis ad sidera, lastissimis animis devotissimis 
mentibus, gratias Deo referrant, et gloriam resonant in excel- 
sis. Ecce namque coeli aperti sunt, et Dei gloria, Dei patris 
orta lux Christi ; Spiritus Sancti lumen effundens nobis inter 
tenebrosas habitantibus umbras mortis preparavit gratiam ino- 
pinate et admirabilis claritatis. Ecce quidem clementissimuS' 
Agnus Dei, peccata confundens, sanctissimus vir Romanus 
Pontifex, Pater Urbis, Sponsus et Dominus sue sponse clamo- 
ribus, querelis, et luctibus excitatus, compaciensque suis cla- 
dibus, calamitatibus, et minis, ad renovacionem ipsius urbis, 
gloriam plebisque, attonitus, mundi leticiam, et salutem, in- 
spiracione sancti Spiritus, sinum clementie sue graciosus ape- 
riens, misericordiam nobis propinavit, et gratiam, ac universo 
mundo redempcionem promittit, et remissionem gentibus pec- 
eatorum. Etenim post honorabilem ambiaxate nostre suppli- 
cacionem non humano, verum divino consilio conformatam, 
[perhabita deliberacione matura Dominorum Cardinalium, 
omniumque Romane curie prelatorum, diversis ac variis Un- 
guis in divinam consonantibus voluntatem Spiritus, sancti ora- 
cionibus, ac missis per universas Christianorum Ecclesias ce- 
lebratis,] die vigesima septima mensis hujusmodi in magna fre- 
quentia populi preclari Romani exercitus vocem gratie expec- 
tantis, solempnissime, immo angelico premisso sermone, in 
voce salutisj et leticie, decreto apostolico ad futurum quinqua- 



327 



The Tribune to the Senate and the Roman people. 

Let the mountains around you exult ! Let the hills, and the 
plains, and your city of Rome be covered with joy ; and may 
the valleys shed peace, and be abundantly fruitful, and filled 
with everlasting gladness ! May the Roman city, ascending 
the throne of her wonted majesty, rise for ever from the fall 
of her long prostration ! Let her cast oijf the garment of wi- 
dowhood and mourning, and put on the bridal purple ! Let her 
head be adorned with the diadem of liberty, and her neck 
strengthened with collars ! Let her resume the sceptre of jus- 
tice, and, strong and regenerate in every virtue, like a fair- 
dressed bride, let her show herself to her bridegroom ! May 
her priests and elders, her young and old matrons, her orphans 
and virgins be raised, and, with the whole Roman army, 
roused by the voice of salvation, on bended knees, with eyes 
fixed on heaven, and hands lifted to the stars, give thanks and 
sing glory to God in the highest with minds most cheerful and 
most devout. For behold the heavens are c/]pened, and the 
glory of God, the light of God the Father of Christ has 
arisen ^ which, shedding upon us the rays of the Holy Spirit 
amidst the dark shadows of death, has prepared for us the 
grace of unexpected and wonderful brightness. Behold, in- 
deed, the most merciful Lamb of God, confounding our sins, 
the most holy man, the Roman Pontiff, the Father of our city, 
the bridegroom and Lord, roused by the clamours and plaints 
and wailings of his bride, and compassionating her sufferings, 
disasters and destructions, amazed at the regeneration of his 
city and exultation of the people, and at the gladness and sal- 
vation of the world, being also inspired by the Holy Spirit, and 
graciously opening the bosom of his clemency, has acquired 
for us grace and mercy, and promised redemption to the 
world, and forgiveness to sinners. For, after the honourable 
supplication of our Embassy, ordained, not by human but di- 
vine counsel, (inasmuch as it was sent after a mature delibera- 
tion of the Lords Cardinals, and of all the prelates of the 
Roman Senate, many and various tongues according with the 
divine will of the Holy Spirit, in discourses and masses cele- 



328 

gesimum, et sic deinceps perpetuo, annum, promulgavit et 
edidit jubileum; nee non oblatum sibi urbis dominium grata 
voluntate suscipiens, visitacionem sedis apostolice post sedata 
Gallorum scandala, cum ineffabili novit alfectu, sermone, 
vultu, manibus, toto decoro corpore totis sigi)is exterioribus, 
ultra quam dici poterit, ayiimosis. Cum itaque, fratres karis- 
simi, a domino factum sit istud mirabilc quoddam in oculis in- 
tuencium non aiiter nisi ut civitas vestra, Sj)onsa Komani 
Pontificis, expurgata viciorum vepribus, suosihus rcnovata vir- 
tutibus in odorcm ungucntorum suorum vernarum suscipiat 
sponsum suum. Idcirco letis vos precamar in lacrsmis arden- 
tibus extorquamur exortam ajfecilbiis, quatenus, depositis fer- 
rcis armis, guerrarum fluinmis extinctis, mandiiicatis cordibus 
gratis desideriis, haec grata, lisec divina munera, haec dona cai- 
lestia capiatis, magnificantes in hymnis, psalmis jubilantes, et 
laudibus, nomen Domini nostri Jesu Christi, necnon clemen- 
tissimo successori ejus Domino nostro summo Pontitici humiles 
gratias referentes, in cujus labiis gratia divina diffusa renovati 
estis, et benedicti eciam in ctcrnum, insignem purpura, et auro 
ejus sculptam iftiaginem in Romano amphitheatro, seu capito- 
lio statuentesj ut ipsius clementissimi Patris, patrice, auctoris, 
et liberatoris urbis eterne, vivat in posteros Icta et gloriosa 
memoria nullorum diuturnitate temporura peritura. Quis 
enim Scipio, quis Caesar, quis Metellus, Marcellus, Fabius li- 
beratores patrie veteribus rencensemus annalibus, et inextin- 
guabiii dignos memoria judicamus, quorum solcmpnes effigies 
in preciosis lapidibus sculptas pro virtutis memoria et splen- 
dorc miramur, tanta tanquam gloria decorare patriam potuis- 
sent? Illi quidem armati in bcllorum austeritatibus mundi ca- 
lamitatibus, morte et sanguine civium perituras paruere victo- 
rias. Hie non rogatus cum omnium vita, leticia civium, et 
salute, immortales, ac eternos subjecit oculis posteritatis et 
nostris solo verbo triumphos. Nonne hie est qui spiritualibus 
telis armatus exurgens, adversus presentes, futurasque calami- 
tates patrie, providum bellum gerens, omnem miseriam ino- 
pum, gentium pauperum, Romanc reipublice debilitate, ac 
paratam desperate plebis mortem, uno sanctissimo ac trium- 
phali verbo delevit ? Venerandam itaque et colendam hujus 
Patris raemoriam Romanum genus ceterorum memoriis ante- 



329 

brated in every Christian Church,) He (the Pope) did on the 
27th day of this month, in a great assembly of the noble Ro- 
man people and army, then expecting the voice of grace, most 
solemnly, and in an oration truly angelical and full of salva- 
tion and gladness, proclaim and ordain a Jubilee by an Apos- 
tolic decree on the coming fiftieth year, and so on successive- 
ly, assuming at the same time with gratitude the government 
of the city which was offered him, an^ accepting the visita- 
tion of the Apostolic Seat when the scandal of the French re- 
sidence* shall have been put an end to : which olFers he heard 
with an ineffable expression of speech, and countenance, and 
hands, and was in his decorous person, and indeed in all exte- 
rior appearances, animated beyond description. 

Since, therefore, my dearest brethren, that miracle has been 
done in the presence of all of you, insomuch that your city, 
the bride of the Roman Pontiff, cleansed from the thorns of 
her vices, and regenerate in virtue, receives her bridegroom 
into the odours of her own vernal perfumes, we beseech you 
with ardent tears of joy to cast off your iron armour, to ex- 
tinguish the flames of war, and with hearts cleansed of all 
your cherished desires, to accept these precious divine gifts, 
magnifying and extolling in hymns and psalms the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and offering our humble thanks to his suc- 
cessor our Lord the supreme Pontiff, by whom ye are regene- 
rate and blessed for ever, through the divine grace poured 
forth from his lips : and do ye place his image, adorned with 
purple and gold, in the Amphitheatre, that the memory of the 
most merciful Father of his country, the founder and liberator 
of the Eternal City, may live renowned and survive all time. 
For what Scipio, what Caesar, what Metellus, Marcellus, Fa- 
bius, — names of ancient renown, and whom as hberators of 
their country we deem worthy of imperishable memory, and 
whose venerable and precious statues are admired as monu- 
ments of their virtue, and also for their splendour, — who of 
them have adorned their country with so much glory ? — They, 
indeed, in arms, and amidst the hardships of war, and the mi- 
series of mankind, and the blood and destruction of their fel- 

* Avignoa. 



330 

cellat, presentes predicent, et levata nacio future posteritatis 
expectet, honorificantes denique urbem ac vestram sanctissi- 
mam tantis muneribus dignam, tantis honoribus celitus valida- 
tam, per quam, fratres carissimi, nisi solutis viciorum calcia- 
mentis, et innocentibus, ac mundatis pedibus ambulare genti- 
bus non liceret, quoniam locus in quo statis, et vivitis, terra 
verissime sancta est. 

Annunciando denique vobis id gaudium, quod si Dominus 
noster summus Pontifex per banc celestem gratiam vos vir- 
tutes, et vicia expurgare, optata sibi fama dictante, perceperit, 
apertis tociens clemencie suae alis ad visitacionem dilecte ur- 
bis sue, cum comitiva apostolorum, cicius, quam gentes crede- 
rent, transvolabit. 

Nicolaus Laurencii, Romanus Consul, orphanorum, vidua- 
Tum, et pauperium unicus popularis legatus ad Dominum nos- 
trum Romanum Pontificem animo, manuque propriis.* 



* This letter is marlfed, fol. 182. v. 183. of the Codex Taurinensis, anU 
has never before been published. 



Ml 

low citizens, obtained victories : but he, unsolicited, has pre- 
pared for our eyes and those of posterity, triumphs immortal 
and eternal by giving life to all, and happiness and safety to 
the state, by his word alone ! Is it not he, who, armed with 
spiritual weapons, warring against the present and future cala- 
mities of his country, has relieved the misery of nations, made 
wretched and poor by the weakness of the Roman common- 
wealth, and has driven away from the despairing people the 
death which was ready for them, and has done all this by one 
most holy and triumphant word ? 

Let the Roman race, therefore, prefer the venerable memo- 
ry of this their Father to the memory of all others ; let the 
present people foretel, and let our rising posterity hope for 
another such ! Finally, let us honour your most holy city wor- 
thy of such great gifts, and strengthened with so great glory 
from above, and through which, my dearest brethren, it is not 
permitted for the nations to walk except the sandals of their 
vices be loosened, and their feet be clean and innocent, for 
verily the soil on which you stand and live is holy ! 

Lastly, I announce these glad tidings to you, that if our 
master the high Pontiff should receive a previous report of 
your purification by means of the divine grace, he will open 
the wings of his repeated clemency, and fly to visit his belov- 
ed city with the company of his Apostles* quicker than the 
nations do expect. 

Nicolas the son of Laurentius, the Roman Consul, the only 
Legate of the people, for the Orphans, the Widows, and the 
Poor, to our master the supreme Pontiff, of his own will, and 
with his own hand. 



42 



332 



Copia literarimi, qiccfuerunt misse ad Curiam de Us, que fue- 
runt gesta in parlamento facto per Trihunvm Rome coram 
Ambaxialoribus Italie, seu Imperio, et ejus juris dicionihus. 



In honorem et gloriam summi Dei Patris, et spiritus Sancti 
filii ; beatorum Apostolorum Petri, et Pauli ; et Sancti Joanni 
Baptiste, in cujus sacratissimo templo in Roma, videlicit sa- 
cratissimi principis gloriam militarem accepimus, prius ful- 
gente titulo Spiiitus Sancti, cujus indignus servus miles existi- 
mu*: nee non ad honorem et reverentiam sancte Romane 
Matris Ecclesie, et Domini nostri summi Pontilicis statum 
prosperum et aiurmentum sancte Romane urbis, sacre Italie, 
et tocius fidci Christiane. Nos candidatus spiritus sancti 
miles Nicolaus, Severus et Clemens, Liberator urbis, Zelator 
Italie, Amator Orbis et Tribunus Augustus, volcntes, et disi- 
derantes donum spiritus sancti, et libertates antiquorum Ro- 
manorum Principum, quantum nobis permittitur, imitari, no- 
tum facivnus universis, quod pridem a nobis post assumptum 
Tribunatus ofHcium Romanus Populus de consilio omnium et 
singulorum judicum, sapientum, et advocatorum urbis, recog- 
novit, adhuc se habere illam auctoritatem, potestatem, atque 
jurisdictionem in ioto orbe terrarum, quas habuit a principio 
et summo augmento urbis prefate, et omnia privilegia facta 
in prejudicium auctoritatis, potestatis, et jurisdictionis, anti- 
quam, et arbitrariam potestatem nobis concessam a Romano 
Populo in publico Parlamento, et nuper a Domino nostro 
summo Pontifice, ut patet per Apostolicas Bullas ejus, ne vi- 
deamurde dono, et gratia spiritus sancti ingrati vel quomodo- 
libet avari, tam Romano Populo, quam Populis sacre Italie 
supradictis, et ne per negligentiam jura, et jurisdictionem Ro- 
mani Populi permittamus amplius deperire, auctoritate, et 
gratia Dei, et spiritus sancti, ac sacri Romani Populi, et omni 
modo, et jure et forma, quibus melius possumus, et debemus, 
decernimus, declaramus* et pronunciamus ipsam sanctam Ro- 
manam Urbem Caput orbis, et fondamentum totius fidei chris- 
tiaue, ac omnes et singulas civitates Italie liberas esse, et 



333 



Copy of the Letters which were sent to the court of Rome con- 
cerning the Matters which xoere settled in the Parliament, sum- 
moned by the Roman Tribune, before the Ambassadors of Italy, 
or of the Empire and its Jurisdictions. 

To the honour and glory of God, the Father, the Most 
High, and of the Holy Spirit, and of the Son ; of the hlessed 
apostles Peter and Paul, and of the holy John the Baptist, (in 
whose most sacred temple of Rome, we received indeed the 
military glory of a most holy prince, under the splendid title 
of the Holy Spirit,* whose unworthy servant and soldier we 
are), and to the honour and reverence of our holy mother the 
Roman Church, the prosperity of our lord the supreme Pon- 
tiff, and to the increase of the holy Roman city, of our sa- 
cred Italy, and of the whole Christian Faith, 

We, a Knight candidate of the Holy Spirit, Nicholas, the 
Severe and Merciful, the Liberator of the city, the Defender 
of Italy, Lover of the world, Tribune August, wishing and de- 
siring the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to imitate as far as may 
be permitted us the powers of the ancient chiefs of Rome, 
MAKE KNOWN TO ALL, that, whcrcas, since our assumption of 
the tribuneship, the Roman people, by the advice of all and 
singular their judges, sages, and advocates, have recognised, 
*hat they still retain the same authority, power and jurisdiction 
over the whole world, which they held from the beginning and 
in the height of their city ; and still have all privileges granted 
to others in prejudice of their authority, power and jurisdic- 
tion ; and that the ancient and supreme powers have been 
granted to us by them in the public parliament, and lately by 
our lord the high Pontiff, as appears from the apostolic bulls ; 
and whereas we would not seem in the eyes of the Roman 
people, or of the people of our holy Italy, in any way un- 
mindful or covetous of this gift and grace of the Holy Spirit, 
or to permit the people's rights and jurisdiction any more to 
be invaded. * ^ * 

* Alluding to his Knighthood in the Lateran. 



334 

easdem ad cautelam integre libertati donamus, et omnes, et 
singulos Populos tocius sacre Italic liberos esse censemus, et 
ex nunc omncs profatos Populos, ac cives civitatum Italic faci- 
rnus. declaiamus, ct pronuncianius cives esse Ronianos, ac Ro- 
niana libertate cos volumus gaudere. Item eadem auctoritate, 
ct gratia spiritus sancti ac Romani Populi supradicti dicimus, 
prolitcmur. ac eciam declaiamus, Ronianum lmj)crium, elec- 
lionom. jiirisdictionom, et moiiarchiam tocius sacii imperii ad 
ipsam almam urbcm, et ejus Populum, nee non ad universam 
Italiam pertinere, etad easdem esse legitime devolutas multis 
rationalibus causis, quas suo loco, ct tempore dcclarari lacie- 
uius, dantes, et preligentes in hisscriptis omnibus et singulis 
prelatis, Imperatoribus electis, Lectoribus, Regibus, Ducibus, 
Principibus, Marchionibus. Populis, Univcrsitalibus, et qui- 
buscumquc aliis in specie, et ociam cujuscumque preeminen- 
cie status, et condicionis existant. et contradicere volentibus, 
sen in electione prefa<a. ac ipso Imperio Jurisdictionem, po- 
testatem, et auctoritatem prelendcntibus, quoquoinodo ter- 
minum bine ad festum Pasclie, Pentecosles proxime liiturum, 
quod infra dictum termiiumi in ipsa alma urbc ct sacrosancta 
Lateranensi Ecclesia, coram nobis, et aliis oflicialibus Domini 
nostri Pape, et Romani Populi debeant cum eorum juribus 
comparere, alioquin a dicto termino in antea procedemus se- 
cundum quod do Jitre fuerit, ct spiritus sancti gratia monslra- 
bit : El nibilominus ad prcdicta omnia in specie, et in com- 
municitari fecimus lllustres Principes,quise asserunt Romanes 
Impcralores. vel ad Imperium jam electos Dominum Ludovi- 
cum Duccm Bavario, Dominum Karohun Regem Bocmie. Do- 
minum DucemBavarie,* Dominum Duccm Saxonie, Dominum 
Marcbionem Brandiburgensem, Dominum Archiepiscopum 
Trevcsensem. Dominum Arcbiepiscopum Colonicnscm : 
qui in dictis terminis, et loco, ct infra terminum predic- 
tum coram nobis, et aliis ofticialibus Romani Populi debe- 
ant personaliter comparere, alioquin, ut prcdicilur proce- 
demus, eorum absencia, et contumacia non obstante. In 
predictis autem omnibus, et singulis nostris actibus, pro- 
ccssibus, et executionibus, quibuscumquc, auctoritati, ju- 
risdictioni sancte Matris Ecclesie Domini nostri Pape, 
ac sacri collegii in nullo volumus derogari. Quinimo volu- 
* The MSS. have two Dukes of Bavaria. 



335 

We do, by the authority and grace of God, the Holy Spirit, 
and the sacred Roman people, and by every means legally 
and formally within our power and duty, decree, declare, and 
pronounce this holy city of Rome the capital of the world, 
and the base of the whole Christian faith, and all and every 
state of Italy to be free, and we guarantee their perfect liber- 
ty, and we pronounce all the people of our sacred Italy free- 
men ; and from this time we do make, declan^ and pronounce 
all the above people and citizens of the Italian states to be 
Roman citizens, and we would have them to enjoy Romau 
liberty. Moreover, by the same authority and grace of the 
Holy Spirit, and of the said Roman people, we do acknow- 
ledge and declare, that the Roman empire, its elections, juris- 
dictions, and the monarchy of our holy empire, belong to the 
cherished city itself, its people, and to the whole of Italy, and 
have devolved to the same by many reasonable causes which 
will be made known in proper time atid place, by us giving 
and prefixing them to these our writings to all and each of the 
Prelates, Generals elect, Electors, Kings, Leaders, Princes. 
Noblemen, People, Universities, and to all persons of what- 
soever state, pre-eminence, and condition they may be, and 
to those pretending to any jurisdiction, power, and authorit)' 
in the aforsaid election and in the empire itself, from this time 
to the approaching festivals of the Passover and Pentecost ; — 
within which period they are expected to appear with their 
pretensions before us, and the other oihcers of our lord the 
Pope, and before the Roman people in this cherished city it- 
self, and in the holy Lateran Churrh, otherwise we shall pro- 
ceed against them from the said period, according to law, and 
to the suggestions of the grace of the Holy Spirit. 

Moreover, we have caused to be summoned severally and 
collectively for all the aforesaid purposes, the illustrious 
princes, who call themselves Roman Emperors, or who are 
now chosen to the empire, Lewis, Duke of Bavaria, Charles^ 
King of Bohemia, the Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Saxony, the 
Marquis of BrandenburgU, the Archbishops of Treves and 
Cologn, whom we expect will appear in person before us and 
the other otiicers of the Roman people, in the said limits and 
places, and within the aforesaid period : otherwise vre shall 



336 

mus ad augmentum, et honorem semper actus nostroe dirigere, 
«t tenemur, per omnia revereri. In dictione quinta, die pri- 
ma mensis Augusti publicata fuenint predicta, coram Romano 
Populo, acceptata, et approbata per ipsum Populum existen- 
tem in Platea Lateranensi, presente Domino Vicario Domini 
nostri Pape, Domino Paulo De Comite, Domino Joffredo 
Sooceo, fratre Jacobo Preceptore sancti Spiritus, fratre Hu- 
golino ordinis predicatorum, Domino Francisco de Velletris 
Judice, Domino Mattheo de Reate Judice, Paulo Angeli de 
Fuscis, Domino Nicolao Nicole, Domino Ubaldino Pictoris de 
Eugubio, Domino Vugacione Petri de Eugubio, et Serguiccio 
Ramacone de Eueubio.* 



'■'• This is marked fol. 174, of the Index, and has been published in Hoc- 
-semius. It is here, however, copied from the Turin MSS. as it contains 
ihc famous and foolish citation of the rival Emperors. 



337 

proceed against them as above-mentioned, notwithstanding 
their absence and contumacy. But in all and each of our 
aforesaid acts, processes, and administrations, we would on no 
account derogate from the authority and jurisdiction of our 
holy mother church, our lord the Pope, and the sacred col- 
lege ; on the contrary, we would direct all our acts to their 
increase and honour, and, as we are bound, reverence them 
in all things. 

The aforesaid were published in the 5th Indiction, on the 
first day of August, accepted before the Roman people, and, 
with their approbation, in the street of the Lateran ; present 
the vicar of our Lord, the Pope, Paulus de Comus, Jofredus 
Sooceus, his brother, James the preceptor of the fraternity of 
the Holy Spirit, and his brother Ugolino, of the order of 
Preachers, Francis judge of Velletri, Matthew judge of Reate, 
Paulus Angelus of Fusci, Nicolaus Nicolaus, Ubaldinus Pictor 
of Eugubium, Eugacio the son of Peter, of Eugubium, and 
Serguiccius Ramaco, of Eugubium. 



Ii38 



Copia iiterarum, quas niikit Tribimus Populo et Univtrstiati VI' 
terbii de obediential ac subsidio requisitis per eum pro repub- 
' lica gubcrnanda. 

Auctore clementissimo Domino nostro Jesu Christo. Nico- 
laus, Severus et Clemens, Libertatis, pacis, jiisticieque Tri- 
bunus, et sacre Romane rei publice Liberator, nobilibus et 
prudentibus viris, Potestati, Capitaneo, Bonis Hominibus, 
Sindico, Consilio, et Communi Civitatis Viterbii in Tuscia 
constitutis, sacri Romani Populi filiis, et devotis, salutem, et 
eum reconciliacione Dei pacem et justiciam venerari. 

Denunciamus vobis id gaudium Domini sancti Spiritus, 
quod pius Pater, et Dominus noster Jesus Christus in hac 
veneranda die festivitatis Pasche Pentecoste per inspiracionem 
sanctam hujus sancte urbis, et populo ejus, ac et vobis et 
omnibus fidelibus populis viris, qui nostra membra consistunt, 
dignatus est miseracorditer elargiri. Sane cum status ipsius 
alme urbis, et populi, ac tocius Romane Provincie pravorum, 
et crudelium rectorum et destructorum ipsius esset ex omni 
parte quassatus, in perdicionem, etmiserabilemdestrucionem 
jam deducitur, adeoque intime in eadem alma urbe omnis erat 
mortificata justicia, pax expulsa, prostrata libertas, ablata 
securitas, dampnata caritas, misericordia et devocio pro- 
phanate, quod nondum extranei et peregrini veri Christi cives 
Romani carissimi provinciales ad comitatum nostri nullatenus 
ibidem venire poterant, vel inibi remenare securi, quinmino 
oppressiones undique, sediciones, hostilitates, et guerre, dis- 
truciones animalium, incendia intus et extra, marique, con- 
tinue effrenatissime penetrabantur, cum magnis ipsius sancte 
urbis, et totius Romane provincie periculis, jacturis et damp- 
nis animarum, bonorum et corporum, et detriment© non 
modico totius fidei christiane heu ! jam diminute, et quasi 
totaliter derelicte erant peregrinaciones, et visitaciones in- 
dulgenciarum et itinerum Sanctissimorum Apostolorum Petri, 
et Pauli civium, principumque nostrorum, et aliorum sancto- 
rum Apostolorum quorum octo in eadem urbe corpora requi- 



339 



Copy of the Letters which the Tribune sent to the People and 
University of Viterbo, concerning the Obedience and Assis-- 
tance required from them in the Government of the Republic. 

Under the authority of our most merciful Lord Jesus 
Christ, Nicolas, the Severe and Merciful, of liberty, peace, 
and justice, the Tribune, and the Liberator of the sacred 
Roman republic, to the Noble and Prudent Men, to the Po- 
desta, to the Captain, to the Good Men, to the Sindic, to the 
Council, and to the constituted authorities of the Tuscan city 
of Viterbo, the devoted children of the Roman people, 
health, and through the reconciliation of God, the love of 
peace and justice. 

We announce to you the joy of the Lord the Holy Spirit, 
which on the venerable day of the festival of the passover, 
our pious father and Lord, Jesus Christ, has vouchsafed in 
his mercy to bestow upon his people, and upon you, and all 
the faithful who compose our members, through the holy in- 
spirations of this sacred city. Verily, when the state of the 
cherished city itself, of the people, and the whole Roman 
province, was convulsed on every side, and reduced to per- 
dition and wretched ruin, by its depraved, and cruel, and 
destroying rulers,— and justice was so inwardly death-stricken 
in the same city, tranquillity so expelled, liberty so prostrate, 
security so taken away, charity so injured, and piety and de- 
votion so profaned, that the foreign pilgrims, the true citi- 
zens of Christendom, and our very dear Roman provincials, 
could not reach our convocations, or remain in them secure- 
ly. But owing to the oppressions on every side, the sedi- 
tions, hostilities, and wars, the ravage of living beings, the 
conflagrations which, within and without, upon the land, and 
on the waters were continually raging, with great danger to 
the sacred city itself, and of the whole Roman province, 
with the loss and destruction of soul, and body, and proper- 
ly, and with no small detriment to the whole Christian faith^ 
)i0w, alas, decayed! the pilgrimages and the visitation for 

43 



340 

escunt, et sanctorum infinitorum Martyrum, atque virginuna^ 
in quorum sanguine ipsa sancta civitas est fundata ; nee rai- 
Tandura erat. quin ipsa sancta civitas, que ad consolacionem 
animarum constructa fuit, et que fidelium omnium debet esse 
refugium, facta erat offensionis silva, et spelunca latronum 
pocius quam civitas apparebat ; vos etiam, et alii devoti po- 
puli nostri nullum ab ipsa urbe poteratis percipere consilium, 
auxilium, vel favorem, qui primo sub specie senatus, sub 
nomine capitaneatus, sub colore milicie eratis oppressi, et 
injuste sepius lacerati, Igitur prefatus Pater et Dominus nos- 
ter Jesus Christus ad preces, ut credimus, Beatorum Petri et 
Pauli apostolorum, civium principum et custodum nostrorum, 
misericorditer excitatus, ad consolacionem non solum Roma- 
norum civium, verum tocius nostre provincie comitatum, pe- 
regrinorum, et aliorum omnium fidelium Christianorum, ip- 
sum Romanum populum inspiracione spiritus sancti ad verita- 
tem, et concordiam revocavit, ad desiderium libertatis, jus- 
ticie, inflammavit, et ad salutem, et defensionem suam, et 
nostram mirabiliter illustravit, et ad observacionem perpe- 
tuam bone voluntatis, sancte, et juste deliberacionis eorum: 
idem populus, nobis, licet indigno, plenam, et liberam po- 
testatem, et auctoritatem reformandi, et conservandi statura 
pacificum dicte urbis, et tocius Romane provincie, ac libe- 
rum professus arbitrium commisit, et concessit in suo publico, 
et solempnissimo Parlamento, ac plena concordia tocius po- 
puli prelibati. Nos autem, licet ad supportacionem tanti 
oneris humeros nostros insufficientes, et debiles cognoscamus ; 
tamen, apertissime cognoscentes, quod a Domino factum est 
istud, et est mirabilius in oculis nostris, et de gratia Dei, et 
beatorum Petri, et Pauli, ejus gratia, et favore confisi, ac de 
Romani populi nostris, et tocius Romane provincie sequelis, 
€t suffragiis spem habentes, auctoritatem, et potestatem pre- 
dictas devoto corde, et animo virili suscepimus, et ad refor- 
macionem, et renovacionem justicie, libertatis, et securita- 
tis, statusque pacitici prefate Romane urbis, ac totius pro- 
vincie, oculos nostre mentis direximus, et prosequi intendi' 
mus viriliter, et potenter, secundum ordinem antique justicie, 
per virtutem juste, fortisque milicie moderacione : Quaprop- 
ter nobilitatem, prudenciam et devocionem vestram presen- 



341 

indulgences, and to the shrines of the most holy apostles, 
Peter and Paul, our citizens and chiefs, and of other holy 
apostles, eight of whose bodies rest in this city, and of innu- 
merable holy martyrs and virgins, in whose blood the very 
city itself is founded, became as it were totally abandoned : 
nor was it to be wondered at that the holy city itself, which 
was made for the comfort of our souls, and should be the re- 
fuge of all the faithful, became a forest of crimes, and re- 
sembled a den of thieves more than a city : ye also and 
othe- of our devoted people were not able to obtain counsel, 
or assist ance, or favour from the city, but were oppressed, 
and oftentimes unjustly injured first by what was called a Se- 
nate, then under the name of a Capitanate, and with the pre- 
text of military service. 

Wherefore our aforesaid Father and Lord Jesus Christ, 
moved with compassion, as we believe, by the prayers of the 
blessed apostles, Peter and' Paul, our chief citizens and guar- 
dians, hath (for the comforting not only of our Roman citi- 
zens, but of all the provinces and counties and of all pilgrims 
and other faithful Christians) recalled this very Roman peo- 
ple to truth and concord by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 
and hath inflamed them with a desire of liberty and justice, 
and enlightened them for their security, for their own and our 
defence, and for the perpetual observance of good will, of 
holy, and upright judgment. And this same people hath, of 
their own free will, and unanimous accord in their public and 
most solemn parliament, granted and intrusted to us, though 
unworthy, full and free power and authority to reform and 
preserve the tranquil state of the said city, and of the whole 
Roman province — and, notwithstanding we feel our shoul- 
ders insufficient, and too weak for so great a load, yet, see- 
ing most clearly that it is the work of the Lord, and is a mi- 
racle in our eyes, and trusting, through the grace of God, 
and the blessed Peter and Paul, to his grace and favour, and 
relying on the followers and suffrages of the Roman people, 
and of the whole Roman province, we have with a devout 
heart and manly resolution taken upon ourselves the afore- 
said authority and power, and have directed the eyes of our 
mind to the reform and regeneration of justice, liberty, se- 



342 

tibiis exhortamur, gratias reddatis altissimo salvaton, ac 
sanctissimis apostolis suis, quoniam in tempus afflictionis, et 
desperacionis propinaverunt Romano populo, ac nobis conso- 
lacionis remedium, ac salutis ; suscipientes et participantes 
nobiscum hoc donum Dei cum magna leticia, gestis et gau- 
diis manifestis ; necnon ad domandum protinus, et proteren- 
Jwwsuperbiam, et tirampnidem quoumcunque rebellium; cre- 
dentes hunc statum vobis a Christo concessum impedire quo- 
modolibet, vel turbare statum, propulsata campana commu- 
nis, et preconibus destinatis sollicitatis populum, et com- 
mune ad preparandum se armis, equis, et ceteris opportunis 
ad exercitum, et destrucionem eorum, et exterminium mani- 
festum, et sub protecione Dei, et vexillo sancte justicie cum 
manibus nostris, superbie et tirampnides confundentur, et 
libertas, pax, ct justitia pertotam Romanam provinciam re- 
formetur. Nihilominus vobis tenore presentium, sub fide, 
legalitate, et pena arbitraria precipimus, et mandamus, qua- 
tenus infra tres dies post asignacionem presentium, mictatis 
ad nos duos syndicos, et ambaxiatores ydoneos vestra terra 
ad consilium, et Parlamentum, que intendimus in eis diebus 
in Romanorum commodo ad salutem, et pacem tocitus nostre 
provincie celebrare : volumusque, et in signum caritatis et 
amoris presentibus postulamus, quatenus unum sapientum 
juris peri turn, quern vos duxeritis eligendum, ad nos particu- 
lariter destinetis, quern ex nunc in nwrnero judicum consistorii 
nostri cum salario, gagiis, ct muneribus conjunctis pro sex 
mcnsibus deputamus. Datum in Capitolio, vigesimo quarto 
mensis Maii decima quinta indicione.*" 

•■■ This is raarked fol 16G in tlic Turin MSS. and has never been printed 
before. It hag not been thought worth while to mal<e any attempt at 
emendations : the style and historical notices, not the language, being the 
]>rincipal object of publishing these letters. The absence of the diph- 
vhong is observable throughout the whole of the manuscripf:. 



343 

curity, and tranquillity of the aforesaid Roman city, and 
whole province, and we will resolutely and strenuously follow 
up the order of ancient justice, by virtue of a constitutional 
and moderately strong army. 

We therefore recommend it to your dignity, and prudence, 
and devotion, to return thanks to the most high Saviour, and 
to his holy apostles, because that in the season of affliction 
and despair they have greeted the Roman people and us with 
comfort and salvation, partaking and participating with us 
in this gift of God with exceeding gladness and manifest signs 
of joy. We exhort you also to subdue and quell the pride, 
tyranny, and rebellion of those who think to harass and con- 
found this state, granted us by Christ, in whatsoever manner 
it may be : do you by sounding the alarm bell, or by the pub- 
lic criers destined for that purpose, summon the people and 
Commune to equip themselves with arms, horses, and other 
warlike materials for the destruction of any such, and for their 
manifest extermination : so that under the protection of God, 
and the standard of holy justice in our hands, may their pride 
and usurpation be confounded, and liberty, peace, and jus- 
tice, be reformed through the whole Roman province. ^\'^e 
no less command and order, by the tenor of these presents 
under your faith, loyalty, and for fear of such penalties as 
may seem fitting, that you send two proper Sindics and Am- 
bassadors of your district to our council and parliament, which 
we mean to hold in these days, for the welfare of the Romans, 
and the safety and tranquillity of our whole province : and we 
will, and by these presents do require, as a token of our af- 
fection and love, that you specifically appoint for us at least 
one wise man learned in the law, whom you shall deem 
eligible, and whom we, from this date, depute among the 
number of judges of our constitution, with the salaries, 
profits, and emoluments appertaining. 

Given in the Capitol, the 24th day of May, l5th indie, 
tion. 



344 

Responsio Domini Tribuni transmissa amico suo in Romana 
Curia commoranti, eo quod prima sibi scripserat, quod dice- 
batur per Curiam quod terrore preteriti volebat dimittere 
qfficium Tnbunatus. 

Amice Karissime. Inter causas alias, quibus multiplicitur 
vobis afficimur, continue obligamur, et tenemur vobis de fre- 
quentia literarum, quas nobis ita sollicite direxistis, et si ad 
ea non hucusque rescripsimus, non processit ex alia quam ex 
diversitate ardua, et arduitate diversa negociorum, quibus 
persona nostra continue occupatur. Scire tamen vos cupi- 
mus, et tenere certissimum, quod urbs sic reducta est ad sta- 
tum, Spiritu Sancto faciente, pacificum, liberum, et felicem, 
quod non videntibus impossibile foret credi : nemo enim credere 
posset Romanum populum plenum dissidiis, hactenus sordidum 
omni genere viciorum, reductum ad tante unitatis effectum,ad 
tantumque amorem justicie, et honeste virtutis, et pacis in tanta 
temporis brevitate * * * * domitis cessantibus odiis, percus- 
sionibus, homicidiis, et rapinis. Nee est in urbe qui ludo uti 
audeat taxillari ; qui Deum, vel sanctos audeat lacessire blas' 
phrmia; nee laicus quispiam, qui teneat concubinam, inimi- 
cantes omnes gaudent ; etiam leta pace uxores, diucius a 
viris abjecte, ad viros reducte sunt. Magnates, quibus inequa 
rerum communitas causam dissensionis prestabat, ad divisio- 
nem, et porcionem equalem ; nee non et discordes omnes ad 
concordiam tempore isto nostri regiminis per Dei gratiam 
mirabiliter sunt reducti ; et totus Romanus populus ad devo- 
cionem accensi plusquam nunquam fuerunt a nativitate Do- 
mini nostri Jesu Christi gloriosissimi. Quilibet suo gaudet, 
quilibet de suo vivere est contentus. Securi ad urbem ve- 
niunt qui solebant in urbis januis spoliari peregrini cujuslibet 
nationis. Pax viget, et floret securitas. Non sunt modo 
Castra Poteutum, ut hactenus, spelunce latronum ; nee reti- 
nent eos silve. Et novit Deus, cui omnia patent, quod non 
ambicio dignitatis, ofiicii, fame, honoris, vel aure mundialis, 
quam semper abhorrui, sicut, cenum, sed desiderium com- 
munis boni tocius reipublice hujusque sanctissimi status in- 
duxit nos colla submittere jugo adeo ponderoso * * * * nos- 
tris humeris non ab homine, sed a Deo, qui novit si oflicium 



343 

Reply of the Lord Tribune sent to his friend in the Roman 
court* to that which he had zuritten, mentioning the report 
that prevailed in the court that, alarmed at zohat had happen- 
ed, he was desirous of resigning the Trihuneship. 

Dearest Friend, 

Amongst the other causes on account of which we are 
in innumerable ways affected towards you, we are continually 
obliged and beholden to you for the frequency of the letters 
which you have written to us ; and if we have not hitherto 
replied to them, it has only proceeded from the difficult va- 
riety and various difficulty of the concerns with which oiu" 
person is continually occupied. 

We are desirous, however, that you should know and be 
assured that, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, the city has 
been brought back to a state so tranquil, free, and happy, as 
to be incredible to those who do not witness it ; for it is not 
to be believed that the Roman people, till now full of dissen- 
tion, and corrupted by every description of vice, should be so 
soon reduced to a state of such unanimity, and to so great a love 
of justice, honourable virtue, and peace, and that hatred, 
assaults, murder, and rapine should be subdued and put an 
end to. Nor is there any person in the city who dares to 
play at forbidden games, nor to provoke God or his saints with 
blasphemy ; there is no layman who keeps his concubine ; 
all enemies are reconciled ; and even wives, who had been 
long cast off, return to their husbands. The nobles, who 
had grounds of dissention in the unjust community of pro- 
perty, have consented to an equal division and proportion •, 
all the discontented, through the grace of God, are wonder- 
fully brought to contentment in this period of our government, 
and the whole Roman people has been animated to a devo- 
tion, such as has never been witnessed since the nativity of our 
most glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Every man enjoys his 
own : every man is content to live on his own. Pilgrims of 
every nation, who used to be plundered at the gates of the 
city, now come to us in safety. Peace blossoms forth, and se- 
curity flourishes. The castles of the nobles are not as hither- 

■'' At Avignon. 



346 

istud fuit per nos precibus procuratum ; si oflicia, beneficia. 
et honores consanguineis nostris contulimus ; si nobis pecu- 
niam cumulamus ; si a veritate recedimus ; si homines tene- 
mus in verbis, si nobis, vel heredibus nostris facimus compo- 
siciones ; si in ciborum dulcedine, aut voluptate aliqua delec- 
tamur 5 et si quidquam gerimus simulatum. Testis est nobis 
Deus de iis, que fecimus et facimus pauperibus, viduis, orpha- 
nis et pupillis. Multo vivebat quietius Cola Laurentius 
quam Tribunus. Sed pro huius loci beatus amore labores 
reputamus nobis singulos ad quietem, immo in testimonio 
Spiritus Sancti, et Beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, quo- 
rum causam prosequimur, et tuemur. Hora diei quietem 
sumere possumus ; sed noctem addimus operi, et labori. 



347 

lo dens of thieves ; nor do our woods abound with robbers. 
And God, by whom all things are seen, knows that no ambi- 
tion for dignity, office, fame, honour, or worldly favour, which 
I have always abhorred like dirt, but anxiety for the general 
good of the Republic, and of this holy state, induced us to 
submit our neck to so ponderous a yoke, placed upon our 
shoulders not by man but by God, who can testify whether 
this office was put upon us at our own entreaties ; whether 
we have conferred places, benefits, or honours upon our rela- 
tions ; whether we have heaped up money for ourselves ; 
whether departed from truth ; whether we have held men 
together by words only ; M'hether we compound for ourselves 
or our heirs ; whether we are fond of luxury in our food, or 
of any voluptuousness ; and whether we have done any thing 
with hypocrisy. God is our witness of what we have done, 
and are doing, for the poor — for the widows, and for the 
orphans, and all the young. Cola the son of Laurence lived 
much more tranquilly than Cola the Tribune : but for the love 
which we bear to this place, we consider all our labours are 
for its tranquillity, and for this we appeal to the witness of 
the Holy Spirit, and the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, 
whose cause we follow and defend. At the hour of day we can 
take rest, but the night we give to labour and study. 



44 



348 



Prirnum Memhrum presentis Litere, 

Ad id autem, quod scribitis audivisse, quod inceptum jam 
terreri, scire vos facimus. quod sic Spiritus Sanctus, per quem 
dirigimur, et movemur, facit animum nostrum fortem, quod 
ulla discrimina non timemus ; immo si totus mundus, et ho- 
mines sancte fidei christiane, et perfidiarum hebraice, et pa- 
gane contrariarentur nobis, non propterea terremur. Nobis 
enim propositum est cum reverencia Dei, et Sancte Matris 
Ecclesie, et pro amore, et cultu justicie velle mori. Talis 
autem timoris opinio, qui nunquam cecidit nee cadere poterit 
in cor nostrum, potuit fortasse procedere ex eo, quod, dum 
pridem, in concilio peterimus, quod istud officium in diversas 
personas singulis tribus mensibus mutaretur, illi, qui in con- 
cilio erant laceratis pre tristitia vestibus, omnes conclamantes 
lacrimabiliter responderunt, dicentes aut quod iste status 
sanctissimus decidat, et regimen istud ad aliud deveniret, sin- 
guli moriamur, ita quod illud, quod faciebamus causa virtu- 
tis, adscripsit nobis aliena ignorancia ad timorem. Nee id 
ob aliud petebamus,nisi ne causa nostri ad perpetuitatem officii 
aspirare aliquatcnus crederemur. 



349 



First Part of this Letter. 

With regard to what you mention as having heard, that we 
had begun to be frightened, we give you to know that the 
Holy Spirit which governs and cherishes us, so fortifies our 
mind that we fear no perils ; nay, if the whole world, both 
people of the holy Christian faith, and perfidious Jews and 
Pagans should oppose, we would not therefore be dismayed ; 
for it is our intention and desire with all due reverence to 
God, and our Holy Mother Church, to die for the love and 
maintenance of justice. 

But it is probable that such mention of terror, which never 
did, and never can, reach our heart, arose from this circum- 
stance, that when we proposed in council that this office 
should be changed and given to different persons every three 
months, those who were present, tearing their garments in 
sadness, and weeping, began to exclaim, that " the Good 
Estate itself would perish, that the government would un- 
dergo a change, and all would be slain"" — so that what we 
did out of our love of virtue, the ignorance of others hath 
ascribed to fear. And we only desired this measure, that we 
might not be thought in any way, on our own account, to as- 
pire to hold this office in perpetuity. 



350 



Secundum Membrum. 

Vos etiam cupimus non latere, quod Joannes de Vico, olim 
prefectns fricida [fatricida) et proditor vocatus, et expectatus 
diutius, venire noluit ad mandata ; propter quod contra eum 
direximus nostrum victoriosum exercitum, qui jam occupavit 
Vetrallam, et Viterbium tenet obsessum, quod continue de- 
vastatur. Omnes quoque Tuscie Civitates miseruntjam in 
aervitio nostro, et Romani Populi in dictum nostrum exerci- 
tum auxilia gentis sue. Omnes hoc statu letantur, omnes 
Romano populo favent contra proditorem prefatum. Soli 
rectores Patrimonii, et Campanie assistunt, et subfavent pro- 
ditori qui aliter fuerant sui hostes ; de quo etsi dolemus, 
sine causa nos tractari indebite ab eisdem, altiori tamen in 
mente peragimus, quod proinde turbabuntur omnia corda 
Romanorum. Videtur enim eis in culpas ipsorum Rectorum 
non solum ab eis, sed a Domino nostro Summo Pontitice reci- 
pere lesionem ; dicunt quidam : nos Domini nostri summi 
Pontificis in auxiliis sperahamus, et ofiiciales suos ita nobis 
contrarios experimur, quod non sit sine aliquali infamia Domi- 
ni prelibati ; fratisque germani dicti Comitis Campanie cum 
quatuor banneriis equitum, ct cum gente Regis Ungarie inva- 
dentis Regnum Sicilie in Aquila contra Reginam Joannam, e( 
Dominum nostrum summum Pontificem ; Nee obmittemus. 
quod tanta est circa hunc statum vicinarum bona dispositio 
civitatum, quod viginti sex denarios antique parve monete. 
valentes nunc Carlenum unum, et denarios quatuor parvos. 
petitos ab eis pro quolibet focolari, libenter exsolvunt, vi- 
dentes nos ipsam pecuniam, et aliam pro defensione persona- 
rum, et rerum suarum in stipendia militie convertisse, quam- 
vis Rectores ipsi hoc visi fuerint impedire ; et illi, a quibus 
pecuniam ipsam non petimus, dolent quodammodo, et spon- 
tanee solvunt illam, ne a defensione nostra videantur exclu- 
si. Igitur nulla nos cura sollicitat, si, Deo exeunte nobis- 
cum, nobis homines adversarl contingat ; et spem nostram in 
Deo posuimus ; de auxiliis hominum non curamus. Legisse 
namque recolimus, et vidisse virum in sua, et hominis poten- 



3.01 



Second Member. 

We arc also desirous, that it should not be concealed from 
you, that John de Vico (formerly prefect) fratracide, and trai- 
tor, though called and expected a long time, would not come 
to our summons : we have, therefore, sent against him our 
victorious army, which hath occupied Vetralla, and keeps Vi- 
terbo, which is incessantly laid waste, in siege. All the Tus- 
can states also in our service, and the Roman people, have 
sent auxiliaries from their own people to our said army. All 
rejoice in this proceeding, all assist the Roman people against 
the aforesaid traitor. But the governors of the patrimony* 
and of Campania, who were formerly his enemies, connive 
with the traitor, which, although it sorely grieves us that we 
should be treated so unworthily, yet are we more deeply af- 
fected, because the hearts of all our Romans will be troubled 
thereat : for it is their belief, that owing to the offence of 
these governors, they are not only injured by those lords 
themselves, but also by their lord the Pope himself; for, say 
Ihey, we trusted in the assistance of our lord the Pope, and 
now we see his officers are against us, and against us ,to the 
discredit, in some degree, of the same lord the Pope, and of 
the brother of the Count of Campania, invading with four 
banners of horse, and with the people of the king of Hunga- 
ry, the kingdom of Sicily, m Aquila, in prejudice of Queen 
Joanna and of our sovereign lord the Pope. Nor will we 
omit, that such is the good disposition of the cities near this 
state, that they wiUingly pay twenty-six pence of the ancient 
small money, (now worth a carline) and four small pence 
which arc demanded of them for each hearth : for they see 
that we convert this and other money into stipends for sol- 
diers fbr the defence of their persons and property, and not- 
withstanding the governors themselves would hinder this tri- 
bute, those from whom we have not demanded contribution, 

* A part of the Roman states called the Patrimony of St. Peter, 



352 

tia confidentum sucumbere, et quod humana auxilia in ejus, 
ad cujus sunt parata favorem, sepe in confusionem sint solita 
torqueri. Quidquid igitur nobis objicitur, quasi mane * * * * 
reputamus, existentes certi, quod quanto plus hie status sanc- 
tissimus impugnatur in terris ab homine, in celis roboratur 
plus a Deo, qui quod ipse dignatus est misericorditer stabi- 
lire, non patitur per homines infirmari. 



.i| 



II 



353 

are in some measure disappointed, and offer it of their own ac^ 
cord, that they may not appear excluded from our protection. 

We are therefore under no apprehensions, if men should 
become our adversaries, whilst God goes out with us : and we 
have placed our reliance on God, nor caring for the help of 
man. For we recollect to have read of, and have seen such 
as trusted to human powers, succumb, and human aid is wont 
to be turned to the confusion of him for whose help it was 
prepared. 

Let us therefore consider what is objected to us as * * * * * 
being certain that the more this Holy State is assailed on 
earth by men, the more it is fortified in heaven by God, who 
does not permit that what he has pitifully vouchsafed to estab- 
lish should be loosened by the hand of man. 



354 



Tercium Membrum. 

Ad disconsolacionem nostram illud novum accidit, quod, 
tenentibus nobis in carcere singulos potents de hujus status 
impedicione suspectos, et cum eis nuperrime Lucam de Sa- 
bello, Vicarius Domini nostri Pape, aut timore ipsius Luce 
perterritus, vel aliis tirampnidum dolis flexus, credentium 
ad turbacionem hujus santi status preter istas non posse 
unam aliam invenire causam, querit de capitolio receden- 
di : nee unquam in aliquo volumus, ob Domini nostri 
summi Pontificis reverenciam, ejus honoribus, et beneplacitis 
deviare ; de quo etiam Romanus Populus est admiracione, et 
dolore commotus, dum singulos officiales Domini nostri sum- 
mi Pontificis, aliquos malacia, aliquem negligenciaobviare pro- 
spiciunt huic sancto statui, et quieti. Sed frustra tumescunt 
maria, frustra venti funmt, frustra ignis crepitat, et inanes 
resolvuntur in favillas contra hominem in Domine confiden- 
tem, qui, sicut Mons Syon, non poterit commoveri : nee ob- 
mittimus, quod Comes Campanie cum aliquibus tirampnis 
damnabiiibus, machinatus procuravit tres Bannerias equitum 
a se dolose removere, quasi renunciasset eisdem, et ipsi ve- 
nientes ad nostra stipendia, debebant nos occidere, prout 
inter eos fuerat ordinatum. Sed Deus, defensor noster, de 
eorum manibus nostram innocentiam liberavit. Sciatis eciam 
ad despectum, et dedecus Joannis de Vico, nequissimi prodi- 
toris, recepimus a Romano Populo officium Prefecture urbis 
ad gaudium, subjungentes, quod in Dei nomine in Kalendis 
Augusti proxime futuro die Pontificali, ac Imperiali intendi- 
mus per Romanum Populum, Spiritus Sancti gratia, ad mili- 
tiam promoveri, et sic existentes Spiritus Sancti Miles, in 
festo gloriose Virginis Marie ejusdem mensis, Tribunicia 
iaurea, quam Tribuni antiquitus assumebant disposuimus co- 
ronari, mores eorum imitari eciam non verebamur, qui ab ara- 
tris ad officia promoti videbantur. 

De lis omnibus informatis reverendum Patrem Dominum F. 
de filiis Ursis Domini Papi Notarii, qui nobis quam plurimum 
ascripsit, nee habuimus adhuc sibi copiam rescribendi. Et 



355 



Third Member. 

It has lately happened to our discomfort, that, whilst we 
held in prison certain princes suspected of opposition to this 
state, and amongst them very recently Luca of Sabello, the 
Vicar of our lord the Pope, either overcome with terror of 
the said Luke, or influenced by the treachery of usurpers 
(who could find no other means of disturbing this holy state) 
is seeking to quit the Capitol : nor would we ever do any 
thing contrary to his dignity and wishes out of the reverence 
we bear our lord the Pope, towards whom also the Roman 
people are moved with wonder and grief on beholding the 
officers of our lord the supreme PontiiT endangering the 
tranquillity of this holy state, some from malice, others by 
negligence. 

But the billows swell in vain — in vain the winds rage, and 
in vain the fires crackle, and are dissipated into empty sparks 
against the man who puts his trust in God, who is as im- 
moveable as Mount Sion. We do not omit, that the Count 
of Campania with certain damnable tyrants has contrived that 
three banners of horse should leave his party by stealth as if 
he had renounced them, and come into our pay for the pur- 
pose of slaying us, as had been determined amongst them. 
But God, our defender, has saved our innocence out of their 
hands. 

Know, also, in addition to the disgrace and dishonour of 
John de Vico, that most wicked traitor, that we have received 
from the Roman people the prefcctureship to the joy of the 
city, and that, through the Roman people and the grace of 
the Holy Spirit, we in the name of God on the pontifical and 
imperial day of the approaching kalends of August do intend 
to be promoted to the knighthood; and thus having become a 
knight of the Holy Ghost we have arranged that we shall be 
crowned on the festival of the glorious Virgin Mary in the 
same month, with the Tribunician Laurel, which the tribunes 
assumed of old, not fearing to imitate their customs, who 
were promoted from the plough to high duties. 

You will tell all these things to the reverend lord father 

45 



356 

excusatis nos ei, quod si modo non scribimus, est enim propter 
festinanciam hujus occurrentis ; vos quoque kalidissime stu- 
deatis et vestrum reditum festinare, quia vobis providimus de 
oiiicio honorabili, atque bono ; scientes, quod non de facili, 
non simonia, non precibus, et instancia aliena officiales as- 
sumimus, sed opinione virtutis viros probos ad officia pro- 
movemas. 

Datum in Capitolio, in quo, regnante justicia, recto corde 
vigemus, die decima luinta Julii, decimaquinta indicione, 
liberate rei publico anno primo.* 



* The foregoing letter has never been published : it is marked fol. 175. 
176, of the Turin MSS. 



357 

Orsini, the notary of our lord the Pope, who wrote to us as 
soon as possible, and we have not yet had an opportunity of 
replying to him ; and you will excuse us to him that if we do 
not now write, it is by reason of these events. You also will 
eagerly endeavour to hasten your return, because we are 
looking out for some honourable and good office for you, 
knowing that we do not easily, nor by simony, appoint our 
officers, nor at the entreaties and instance of other persons, 
but promote honest men approved for their virtuous characters. 
Given in the Capitol, where in this reign of justice we 
flourish in upright heart, on the 15th day of July, the 15tli 
Indiction, and 1st year of the freedom of the republic. 



358 



Copia lUierarum missarmn per Tribunum urhis ad Donimum 
Papam excusando se ab inimicis occultis, narrans etlam ali- 
qiia contra Comitem Fondorum. 



Sanctissime Pater, ct clementissime Domine, nc dolosarum 
linguarum astucia, a quibus ********* liberari, vestra 
clemencia quatenus non facilis, imo impossibilis, sicut reor, 
verbis inclinari fallacibus, cum sit scriptum orani sermoni non 
esse credendum, suspectum teneat tamen de cognicione mee 
puritatis auditum, presens litera sanctitati vestre transmittitur 
veri nuncia, mendacii inimici et dolo obvia alicujus, qui ex 
acuta lingua ut gladio in jaculatum sagittarum nititur in oc- 
culto, cujus innata et inveterata nequicia non participio status, 
et honoris ecclesie ipsum facit immeritum, verum efficit sus- 
cepcione aule vestre sanctitatis indignum. Noverit igitur 
ganctitatis vestre benignitas, me humilem servum vestrum in 
festo beatissime Marie Virginis de presenti mense Augusti 
fuisse per maaas Preceptoris Hospitalis sancti spiritus, et 
Vicariorum ecclesiarum cathedralium urbis antiquitus solita 
dari tribunis laurea coronatum : videlicet sex coronis, quarum 
quinque fuerunt frondee, secundum Romanorum antiquum 
institutum, da^i augeatibus rem publicam consuete, et sexta 
fait argentea, que valorem quinque florenorum auri non ex- 
cedit ; et post ipsarum susceptionem sex hujusmodi coronarum 
p'omum rccepi per manus Syndici Romani Populi malicie 
signatum, que devote suscipiens ad memoriam sex donorum 
Spiritus Sancti ab ejusdem larjiitate alui, et sub sancte Ro- 
mane Ecclesie, et Sanctitatis vestre reverencia recognovi, in 
quibusque suscipiendis nulla pcrpetuabitur auctoritas in con- 
sensu, slve llcentia nulla fait Pontificalis oportuna potestas curie. 
Non in pleno, at pianissimo publico parlameuto, de assensu 
tocius Romani Populi, et alioram quamplurium omnium fere 
civitatum Tuscie Svndicorum Ecclesie Zelo fratres, omnes 



359] 



Copy of the Letters sent hy the Tribune of the City to the Lord 
the Pope, defending himself from his secret Enemies, and 
mentioning certain things against the Count of Fondi. 

Most holy Father, and most merciful Lord, lest through 
the craftiness of deceitful tongues, from which even * * * * 
would desire to be delivered, your clemency, hitherto not 
easy, nay, as I suppose, impossible to be turned from me by 
fallacious words, (for it is written we are not to credit every 
thing we hear) may not hold me suspected, notwithstanding 
the known proofs of my purity, this present letter is sent to 
your Holiness to declare the truth, to oppose falsehood, and 
to repel the craft of any person who darts arrows from his 
sharp tongue, like a secret sword, and whose innate and in- 
veterate vice renders him unworthy not only of all dignity 
and honour in the state, but even of being received into the 
court of your Holiness. 

Your Holiness will have known, that on the festival of the 
most blessed Virgin Mary, in this present month of August, 
your humble servant received from the.hands of the preceptor 
of the Hospital of the Holy Ghost, and of the Vicars of the 
cathedral churches of the city, the Laurel Crown which was 
wont of old to be given to the Tribunes, consisting of six 
crowns, five of which were of natural leaves, given, accord- 
ing to an old Roman custom, to persons who had advanced 
the commonwealth, and the sixth of silver, not exceeding the 
value of five gold florins ; and that after taking the above six 
crowns, I received also from the hand of the Sindic the apple, 
the ensign of the army of the Roman people ; all which 
devoutly taking in memory of the six gifts of the Holy Ghost, 
I cherished as a token of his bounty, and in acknowledgment 
of my reverence for the most holy Roman church, and of 
your Holiness. And in the reception of these there will be no 
perpetual assumption of authority ; or loas there any infraction 
of the power of the court of Rome.* In the full, or rather in 
the complete public parliament, and with the assent of the 

* This appears untranslatable. 



360 

homilies civitatum, in quibus etiam cardinalium tituli, et bona 
eorum ab omui vassalagio liberavi, elves Romanos effeci et 
reduxi ad vestrum dominium, Dominorum Cardinalium, quo- 
rum in eis non modicum jurisdicio lesa erat,adversispotentibus 
vestre urbis. Item quod nullus Imperator, Rex, Princeps, 
Marchio, sive quovis alio censitus nomine cum gente audeat 
in Ttaliam mittere sine vestre Sanctitatis, vel Romani Populi 
licencia speciali ; ad que me induxit pura, quam habeo ad 
Ecclesiam, sancta fides, et desiderium pacis, et quietis Italic, 
atque Regni. Item quod nemo detestabilia nomina Guelfum, 
et Guibellinum tanti jam proh dolor ! Christiani sanguinis 
cstuaria, audeat per totam Italiam nominare, sed, omni * * * 
* * deposita, fidelem sexorem sancte Ecclesie in unitate, et 
pace, * * * asserat, et cognoscat. In quibus, et aliis per me 
gestis, si aliquid potest reputari Ecclesie sancte contrarium, 
que per universum pacem dccantant, et predicant, relinquo 
vestre judicio sanctitatis, cupiens anxie, et non ficte, quod 
dignetur vestra sanctitas mittere aliquem virum Dei, ut de 
singulis, que percgi, voluntate vestri Romani Populi dlscuciat^ 
et inquirat ; et si forte mali quo mc inculpat reperiat, ante 
pedes vestros venturum me obligo, pena qualibet, juxta 
sanctitatis vestre justiciam sine misericordia puniendus. Nee 
vestram clemenciam lateat, quod contra hostcm Ecclesie, 
atque vestrum Nicolaum Gartanum, olim Fondorum comitem, 
per exercitum victoriosum proeedo viriliter, paratis oppor- 
tunis, et jam misi Cancellarium, urbis Angelum Malabreme 
in ostensioncm tcrrarum Comitis prelibati cum equitibus 
quadringentis positls in campo feliciter, cum Spiritus Sancti 
gratia, et favorc, ultra duodecim centenaria equitum stre- 
nuorum cum balistariis, et hominibus aliis infinitis, et quod 
ipsum spero faciliter conculcare, quod nunquam ***** ut 
resurgat. Cujus excreitus Joztnnem natum Stephani de Co- 
lumpna, Principem malicie ordinavi. Et quod in iis partibus 
ccpit indere aliqua, licet modica carestia, eui adhibui, et 
adhibeo proposse remcdia, proeurans de Sicilie partibus 
granum defferii facere, ae eciam aliunde, et terras Romani 
districtus, quarum diu inculta pars maxima jaeuit, reduci 
faciens ad culturam ; et per concessionem Jubilei nisi provi* 



361 

whole Roman people, very many of the Sindics, of all the 
cities of Tuscany, brothers in Christian zeal, and all those of 
the cities which give titles to cardinals, were not only freed 
from all vassalage as to their property, but were declared by 
me Roman citizens, and were brought back to your authority, 
and to that of my lords the cardinals, whose rights had re- 
ceived manifest injury, in consequence of the inimical nobles 
of this your city. Also, that no Emperor, or King, or Prince, 
or Marquis, or any other under whatever title, may dare to 
put foot in Italy, without the special license of your Holiness, 
or of the Roman people ; to which I was induced by that pure 
and holy faith which 1 bear to the church, and by the desire of 
peace and of the quiet of Italy, and of the kingdom at large. 

Also, that no one may for the future dare to mention the 
detested names of Guelf and Ghibeline ; but laying aside all 
party distinctions, assert and acknowledge the power of the 
***** of the Holy Church, in unity and peace. 

In all which, and other things by me done, if there be any 
thing that can be esteemed contrary to Holy Church, seeing 
that they proclaim and preach universal peace, I leave to the 
judgment of your Holiness ; desiring anxiously and unfeign- 
edly that your Holiness would deign to send hither some man 
of God, to discuss and inquire into all those things which I 
have done by the will of your Roman people ; and if the 
said shall find any of that evil in me with which I am charged, 
I do oblige myself, under any penalty, to be punished without 
mercy according to the justice of your Holiness. Nor let it 
be unknown to your clemency, that against the enemy of the 
church, and of yourself, Nicholas Gartanus, formerly Count 
of Fondi, I am now proceeding manfully with a victorious 
army, and have already sent before mc Angelo Malabreme, 
the chancellor of the city, to make an incursion into the lands 
of the said Count, with four hundred knights well arrayed for 
battle, with the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, besides 
twelve hundred other horsemen with slingers, and an infinite 
number of other soldiers ; who, as I hope, will easily tread 
him under foot, so that he shall never again rise. Of which 
army I have appointed John the son of Stephen Colonna, 
prince of the soldiery ; and because there is in those parts a 



362 

deatur, aliter posset excrescere, dum multi de diversis mundi 
partibus Romam pcrperam confluent, multique granum pro- 
curabant abscondere.* 
Cetera desiderantur. 

* This letter is not in Hocsemius ; it is marked M. 167 of the Turin 

MSS. 



363 

commencing scarcity, although to great extremity, I have 
resorted, and as far as 1 am able do now resort, to certain 
remedies ; enacting that grain shall be imported from Sicily 
and from other countries, and ordaining that many lands of 
our Roman district, the greater part of which have long lain 
uncultivated, shall now be again sown : for I am aware that 
otherwise this scarcity may increase owing to the granting of 
the Jubilee, which will bring such multitudes from all quar- 
ters to Rome, and because many have found means to amass 
and conceal the grain. 
The r^st is joanting. 



364 



Modus, et forma coronacionis Tribuni sic fuit. 

Prima corona quercus presentetur per Priorem Ecclesie 
Lateranensis, dicentem sic : Suscipe quercum, qua cives a 
morte servasti. 

Secunda corona de edera, dicentem : Suscipe ederam, qua 
religionem amasti ; et fuit presentata per Priorem Sancti 
Petri. 

Tertia corona de mirto fuit presentata per Decanum Sancti 
Fauli dicentem : Suscipe mirtum, quoniam officia, et Scien- 
liam observasti, et avariciam odisti. 

Quarta corona fuit de lauro, presentata per abbatem Sancti 
Laurencii extra muros Urbis, dicentem : Suscipe laurum, 
(|Uoniam officia, et Scientiam observasti, et avaritiam odisti. 

Quinla corona fuit de oliva, presentata per Priorem Sancte 
Marie Majoris, dicentem : Vir humilis, Suscipe olivam, quo- 
niam cum humilitate superbiam superasti. 

Sexta corona fuit argentea, et sceptrum ; fuit presentata 
per Priorem Sancti Spiritus in Saxia, dicentem : Tribune 
Auguste : Suscipe, doaa Spiritus Sancti, cum corona, et Scep- 
Iro, et Spiritualem coronam. 

Pomum autem detur per Dominum Gotfridum sic dicentem: 
Tribune Auguste, suscipe, et coie justiciam, da libertatem, 
et pacem ; et osculetur eum. Vicarius Domini Ostiensis 
dirigat coronas. 

Dominus archiepiscopus Neapolitanus non permittat auferri 
argenteam coronam. 

Et dum predictus Tribunus coronabatur, secum quemdam 
pauperem habebat vilissime indutum in signum humilitatis ; 
asserens predictus Tribunus, quod antiquus mos erat, quo Im- 
peratores Romani cum triumphabant, toUerabant, et sustine- 
bant omnia verba injuriosa per quoscymque eis dicentes illo 
die. 

Dicto die dictus dominus Tribunus in consilio primus sur- 
rcxit, collaudendo ambaxiatores, et civitates, que advenerant 
ill subsidium Romani populi, otFerendo se, et Romanum popu- 
lum supradictis ambaxiatoribus, et civitatibus ad omnia, que 



36S 



The manner and form of the Coronation of the Tribune ivas 

thus : 

The first crown of oak shall be presented by the Prior of 
the Lateran Church, saying : Receive the oak, with which 
thou hast preserved the citizens from death. 

The second crown of ivy was presented by the Prior of 
St. Peter's, saying : Receive the ivy, with which thou hast 
cherished religion. 

The third crown of myrtle was presented by the Dean of 
St. Paul's, saying : Receive the myrtle, since thou hast ob- 
served thy duties and thy science, and hast abhorred avarice. 

The fourth crown of laurel was presented by the Abbe 
of St. Laurence, without the walls of the city, saying : Re- 
ceive the laurel, for thou hast observed thy duties and thy 
science, and hast abhorred avarice. 

The fifth crown of olive was presented by the Prior of 
Santa Maria Maggiore, saying : Humble man, receive the 
olive, for thou hast overcome pride with humility. 

The sixth crown was of silver, as was the sceptre, and was 
presented by the Prior of Santo Spirito in Saxia, saying : 
Tribune August, receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with a 
crown and sceptre, and a spiritual crown. 

But the apple was to be given by the Lord Gotfndus, say- 
ing, Tribune August, receive — and reverence justice, grant 
liberty and peace — and he kisses him. 

The Vicar of the Lord of Ostia was director of the crowns. 

The Lord Archbishop of Naples must not allow the silver 
crown to be removed. 

And whilst the aforesaid tribune was being crowned, he 
had with him a certain poor person most meanly clad, as an 
example of humility ; the said tribune declaring that there 
existed an ancient custom, that the Roman Emperors, when 
they triumphed, tolerated, and bore all injurious words by 
whomsoever spoken on that day. 

On the said day, the said Lord Tribune rose first in coun- 
cil, applauding the ambassadors and states which had come 



366 



luerint eis necessaria, et oportuna. Item sciatis, quod Jo- 
annes de Columpna signatus, electus, et factus est capitaneus 
contra Comitem Fundorum non removendo propterea Capi- 
taneum in partibus Tuscie, immo pocius confirmando.* 



* This is in Hocsemius, and appears a note of how the ceremony was 
to be arranged, and how it was conducted. If these specimens of Rien- 
zi's writing should be thought interesting, his letter to the Pope, which is 
given in Hocsemius, will be, on another opportunity, published from the 
Turin MSS. Those better acquainted with the Latin of the fourteenth 
century, may be able to correct the text and the translation. 



367 

to the assistance of the Roman people, offering himself and 
the Roman people to execute every thing which was expe- 
dient and seasonable for them. 

You are to know alio that John Colonna is marked, elect* 
ed and made general against the Count of Fondi, not to the, 
prejudice of the general in Tuscany, who is rather confirmed. 



Fac simile of Tassoh hand-writing. 



369 



EXPLANATION OF THE FUNERAL VASES. 



Plate L 

1. Section of a Vase, containing the ashes of a funeral pile, the 

urns, and the utensils, above three palms in height. 

2. Sepulchral Urn, about one palm three inches high ; containing 

the ashes and bones, the little balsamic vase called " Lecy- 
tus," an unknown utensil of clay, divided into two branches 
towards the extremities, a small metallic wheel, and broach 
noticed in No. 5. 

3. Vessels called Animatoria, with funnels for the exhalation of the 

perfumed smoke, according to Vitruvius. 

4. Vase called Calefactorium, having at the lower extremity a 

small furnace for smoke, whence the perfume, proceeding 
from the fluid contained in the upper part, was extracted. 
B. A metallic Buckle, used to fasten the cloth which enclosed the 
ashes. The vase in the centre containing the lustral water : 
the four Vases about it, for wine, oil, milk, &c. The Vase 
with a spout, called Guttas. The three Dishes, and the 
BoAvl with two handles, in front of the Urn. The Lamp, 
which is placed on the left of the Urn. 



Plate IL 

1. An Urn on the model of a temple, fastened with a metallic 

pin. 

2. Vases called Animatoria. 

3. Ditto. 

4. View of the four sides of the Vases called .)3m'ma/:or?"«, as in 

No. 2. 



Plate III. 

1. Urn, like a visor fastened with a metallic pin. 

2. A CaJefactorivm. 



370 



3. The Oscilla, or little clay figure. 

4. A lamp. 



Plate III. Under Part. 

1. A small lance-head. 

2. A hook. 

3. Do. 

4. A writing stylus, with the obliterating instrument attached. 

It has not been thought necessary to give the representation of 
the coverlid of the vase which contains the maiks, of vv'hich a 
copy has been inserted in page 341 : but whilst we are on the 
subject of the same character, it may be observed, that there is a 
curious dissertation upon the origin of the Hindu system in the 
Asiatic Researches (vol. viii. p. 77) which may be worth tran- 
scribing. 

" This kam-ghata, or jar, is the principal object in the cele- 
bration of Hindu worship. The Vaishnavas use the sacred jar, 



" which they mark with several crosses in this manner 



^ 



Sir William Jones, vvith his usual taste and research, has drawn 
a parallel between the deities of Meru and Olympus : and an en- 
thusiast might, perhaps, maintain, that the vases of Alba Long.i 
were a relic of the times, when one religion prevailed in Latiuni 
and Hindustan. It is more singular, that the Hindi) cross is pre- 
cisely the hanuner of Thor. 



371 
PLATE I. 





47 



372 



PLATE 111. 





INDEX. 



Jigrtppina, sarcophagus of, converted into a corn-measure, 115. 
Inscription to her memory, ibid. 

Alban Hill, remarkable tunnel of, 207. Account of very ancient 
vases there discovered, ibid. — 211. Remurks thereon, ibid. 
—217. 

Alberic, tyrant of Rome, notice of, 161. 

Alexander VII., Pope, notice of the devastations committed by, 
on ancient Roman edifices, 03. Commemoi-atcd them by an 
inscription, ibid. note. 

.fll/ieri, Count, anecdotes of, 29, 30. Remarks on the architec- 
ture of his toml), ibid. Account of his last hours, 260. 
His religious opinions, ibid. Character of his prose writings, 

. ibid. — Particularly his version of Sallust, 251 — of Virgil, ibid. 
— of Terence, 252. Character of his posthumous comedies, 
ibid. — and translations from ancient dramatic writers, 253. 
Analysis of his melo-tragedy, the Death of Abel, ibid. Cha- 
racter of his satires, ibid. 254. Of his lyrical poems, 264, 256. 
Beautiful sonnets of his on Petrarch's house at Arqua, and 
on the tomb of Dante, 255, 256. Character of his Misogallo, 
ibid. Private character of Altieri, 257, 258. 

Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, imprisons Tasso, 14. Causes 
assigned for this conduct, 16—18. The real cause, 19, 20, 21. 
Hisill treatment of Tasso, 21. Liberates him, i6i(/. His un- 
happy end, 26. 

Angelo. See St. Angela. 

Antiquities of Rome, mistakes in the earlier notices of, consider- 
ed, 40 — 44. Notice of disputes concerning, 125. List of 
the few of which no doubts can be entertained, 1:26. 

Ariosto, illiberal treatment of, by the Cardinal Hippolyto, 23. 
Notice of his autograph poems preserved at Ferrara, 303, 304. 

Arnold of Brescia, tyrant of Rome, notice of, 162. 

Augustus, mausoleum of. converted into a circus for bull-feast*. 
115. 



374 



B. 

Sandiisian Fouutain, site of, ascertained, 35. 

Barthelemy, Abbfe, remarks on his mistake respecting the Coli- 
seum, 43, 174. 

BasviUe, Hugh, account of, 427. Analysis of Monti's poem on 
his death, 268 — 271. 

^embo, Cardinal, profane latinity of, 27, note. 

Blondus, Flavius, a Roman antiquary, character of, 41. 

Braccio di Montone, ravages of, at Rome, 99, note. 

Btdl-feasts^ celebrated in the mausoleum of Augustus, 115. 

C. 

t'arncvale, Signor, remarkable vases discovered by, on excavating 
the vicinity of the Albaii Hill, 208. Account of them, 209 — 
211. Remarks thereon, 211 — 217. 

Canova, Marquis, pi'eserved the remains of the Serviliaa sepul- 
chre, IIG, 117. 

Capitol, dilapidated state of, in the fourth century, 56. Contra- 
dictory opinions of antiquaries respecting the site of the Capi- 
toline temple, 145. Literary establishments there, ibid. Suc- 
cessive spoliations of its editices, 146. Revolutions in its his- 
tory, 146 — 148. Its present state, ibid. Church of Araceli 
and Franciscan Convent erected on it, 149. 

Castle of St. Angelo, history of, 196 — 199. Its present state, i6ic?. 

Cesarotti, Melchior, memoir of, 225 — 229, 230. Character of his 
version of Ossian, 225. Of his translation of Homer, 226, 
227. Of his treatise on the Italian language, 227. Remarks 
on his prose style, 228. And on his private and political cha- 
racter, 228. Opinion of the Italians concerning him, ibid. 

Cestius, pyramid of, 133. 

Charles V.. Emperor, sack of Rome by, 106. 

Cicero, eulogiuni on, 151. 

Circumference of Rome, according to Gibbon, 117 — 119. Ac- 
cording to d'Anville, 119. According to Po^^gio. j'6f(/. Accord- 
ing to the measurement of two Englishmen in 1817, ibid. note. 
DitVerences in these measurements considered, 120 — 122. 

Circuses, Roman, destroyed, 68 — and the Circensian games dis- 
continued, 59. 

Civil wars, destructive effects of, in Rome, 65, 66, 88 — 91. 



375 

Glergy, devastations committed by, on the ancient edifices of 
Rome, 53—63. 

Clitumnus, River, sources of, 31. Temple of the Umbrian Ju- 
piter, on its banks, ibid. Now converted into a church, 32. 
Its dilapidated state, 33, 34, 35. 

Coliseum, injured by lire, 1G9. Restored in the reign of Probus, 
ibid. Struck by lightning, but repaired, ibid. Shows exhibited 
there, 170. Probable causes of the holes that disfigure its 
surface, ibid. Metamorphosed into a fortress in the twelfth 
century, 171. History of its successive spoliations, 172 — 178-. 
Christians martyred there, 178, 179. Dramatic mysteries per- 
formed there, 179. Eflbrtsmade for its preservation, 180, 181. 

Column of Trajan, account of, 138 — 140. Of .Phocas, 154. 

Comedies, posthumous, of Alfieri, character of, 252. 

Concord, temple of, 152. 

Gonservators^ Palace, 165. Duties of the Roman conservators, 
166, 167. 

Constans, Emperor, devastations committed by, at Rome, 76- 

Coronation of Rienzi, tribune of the Roman people, manner and 
form of, 364, 365. 

Grescentius, tyrant of Rome, notice of, 161, 162. 



D. 

Dante, exquisite sonnet of Count Alfieri on the tomb of, 256. 

D'Anville. opinion of concerning the circumference of Rome, 119. 

Death of Abel, a melo-tragedy of Alfieri's. character of, 253. 

Dilapidations of ancient Rome, by the Emperor Constans. 76. By 
various popes, 60 — 63, 83, 99, 104 — 106. Reflections there- 
on by Petrarch, 96, 97, and iiotes. Dilapidations committed by 
the inferior clergy, 63 — 63. Account of various dilapidations 
perpetrated in the sixteenth century, 107, 108. 

Donatus, a Roman antiquary, character of, 42. 

Donus I., Pope, devastations committed by, on ancient Roman 
edifices, 62. 



Earthquakes, at Rome, notice of, 73. 

Empire, removal of the seat of, one cause of the decay of Rome- 

67. 68. 



376 

Eugenius tV.^ Pope, dilapidations committed by, at Rome, 99. 

F. 

Faunus, Lucius, a Roman antiquary, character of, 42. 

Ferrara, cell at, where Tasso is said to have been confined, 13. 
Remarks on the inscription over it, 14, 15. State of that city 
in 1365.26, 27. Tasso persecuted by the Ferrarese, 27. Their 
gross flattery of their sovereigns, ib. Notice of Tasso's MSS. 
preserved there, 303 — 323. 

Fires, devastations of, in Rome, 65, &6. 

Flagellations of the Ghurcii of Rome, account of, 202, 203. Re- 
marks on this superstition, 204. Its origin, i6. History of dif- 
ferent sets of flagellants, ib. 205. 

Fortresses, ancient edifices converted into, 84, 190, 200. 

Forum, Roman, site of, all that can be now ascertained, 151. Opi- 
nions concerning its site, 155, 156. Supposed situation of the 
Temple of Concord, 152. Superb remains of it, 153. Column 
of Phocas, and its inscription, 153. Excavations in the Forum, 
under the direction of the Abate Fea, 156 — and of the Dutchess 
of Devonshire, ib. Notice of ancient remains existing there, 
157, 153. 

Forum of Trajan, account of, 140 — 144. 

Foscolo, Hugo, early history of, 282. Character of his tragedy 
of Thyestes, 283. Examination of his " Letters of Ortis," 
ib. — 285. Character of his translation of Sterne's Sentimen- 
tal Journey, 285, 286. Analysis and character of his Dis- 
course for the Congress of Lyons, with specimens, ib. — 289. 
Account of his edition of the works of Montecuculi, ib. — 290. 
Foscolo appointed professor of literature at Pavia, 291. No- 
tice of his inaugural discourse, ibid. Is displaced 292. Re- 
marks on his prose style, 292, 293. Extract of his poem / 
Sepolcri, with remarks, 294, 295. Remarks on his tragedies of 
Ricciarda and Ajax, 297. Anecdotes of his private life and 
opinions, 299—301. 

G. 

Gibbon, Mr., his account of the circumference of Rome consider- 
ed, 118. Mistake of, concerning the sepulchre of Metella, 
corrected, 132. Remarks on his mistake concerning the Co- 
liseum, 173, 174. And on his mistake concerning Hadrian''^ 
Mole, 190—192. 



377 

Gonzago, Vincenzo, Prince of Mantua, solicits the liberation of 

Tasso, 14. His treatment of the poet, 24. 
Gregory the Great, Pope, account of his devastations of ancient 

edifices at Rome, 60, 61. 
Guide-books to Italy, falsehoods of, exposed, 35 — 37. 
Guiscard, Robert, ravages committed by the troops of, in anicent 

Rome, 85—87. 

H. 

Hadrian, Emperor, Mole of, 189. Mistakes of Gibbon, concern- 
ing it, corrected, 191, 192. Uncertainty of its original form, 
193. Fortified and called the Castle of 9t. Angelo, 196. His- 
tory of its different sieges, ib. — 199. Its present state, 199, 200. 

Hadrian I. Pope, devastations committed by, on ancient Roman 
edifices, 61. 

Hammers, cruciform, of the Scandinavians, 215. Similarity be- 
tween them and the marks on the Alban vases, 216. 

i/rt/irf/cerc/tre/" of St. Veronica, 100, 101. Adventures of it, 100, 
note. 

Homer, Iliad of, translated by Cesarotti, 226. Remarks on his 
version, 227, 228. Translated by Monti, 276. Critical obser- 
vations thereon, ib. 217. Notice of Pindemonte's version of 
the Odyssey of Homer, 263. 

Honorius, Emperor, ordered the temples of Rome to be shut, 53, 

Horse of Aurelius, or of Constantine, 164, 165. 

Hume, Mr., observation of, on the Jesuits, 205, note. 

I. 

Inscriptioti, to Scipio Barbatus, 111, 112, notes. To Agrippina, 
115. To the Emperor Trajan, 140, note. To the Emperor 
Nerva, 141, 142, note. To Flavins Merobaudus, ib. To the 
Emperor Phocas, 154, note. On the Coliseum, 181, note. 

Inundations of the Tiber, 67, 68, 74, 76, and note 107. 

Irreligion, excused by classical authority, 27, note. 

Italy, present state of literature in, 221. 

J. 
Jesuits, remark oF Hume on, 205, note. 



378 



Laetus, Pomponius, a Roman antiquary, character ot", 43. 

Leonora, Princess of Este, not the mistress of Tasso, 18, 19. 

Letter, pathetic, of Tasso, 22, 23, note. Copies, with translations, 
of several hitherto inedited letters of that poet, 306 — 323. Co- 
pies and translations of inedited letters of the Tribune Rienzi, 
326— 3C5. 

Literary /ne7j, memoirs of, cherished by the Italians, 11, 12. List 
of eminent men, natives of the dutchy of Reggio, 13, 14. How 
treated by the Italian princes, 24, 25. Little encouragement 
to them from the Italian public, 235. 

Literature, on the present state of, in^ltaly, 221. Different periods 
in it, noticed, ib. — 222. Reason why particular works are po- 
pular in Italy, 223, 224. Notice of eminent Itahan literati, ib. 
Cesarotti, ib. 225—239. Mazza, ib. 232, Parini, ib. 249. 
Alfieri, ib.—2o8. Hippolitus Pindemonte, 259, 260. Monti, 
266—28 1 . Foscolo, 282— 300. 

Lyrics of Alfieri, character of, 254, 255. Design of lyric poetry, 
295, 296. 

M. 

Marliamis, a Roman antiquary, character of, 42, 43. 

Marozia, the mother and grandmother of two popes, notice of, 
195, 196, and notes. 

Martin V. Pope, dilapidations committed by, in Rome, 99, 100. 

Mazza Angelo, an Italian poet, character and anecdotes of, 230, 
231. 

Merobaudus, Flavins, inscription to, 142, 7ioie. 

Metella, Cecilia, tomb of, converted into a fortress, 1 14 — 131. In- 
scription to her, 130. Its modern name, ib. Successive spolia- 
tions of it, 132. Mistake of Gibbon concerning it, corrected, ih. 

Middleton, Dr., reflections of, in the Roman Forum, 150, 151. 

Millin, M., character of his Travels in Upper Italy, 43, note. 

Misogallo, of Count Alfieri, notice of, 256, 257. 

Monti, Vincent, venal muse of, 266, 267. Character of his po- 
etry, particularly of his tragedies, ib. 268. Occasion of his poem 
on the death of Hugh Basville, ib. Analysis of the poem, 
with specimens and remarks, 269 — 27 1 . Character of his re- 
volutionary poems, 272, 273. Particularly his poem on the 
death of Mascheroni, 274. And the Bard of the Black Fores 



379 

274, 275. Character of his version of the Iliad, 277, 278. And 
of the Satires of Persius, 277, 278. His poems in praise 
of Buonaparte, 278. Notice of his other poems, 278, 279. Cha- 
racter of his prose style, 279, 280. Remarks on his political ter* 
giversations, 280 — 282. 
Mosti, Agostino, the gaoler of Tasso, 22. Remarks on liis treat- 
ment of the poet, 23, and note on 22. 



N. 

Xctnlini, a Roman antiquary, character of, 42, 43. His works 

ahout to be republished, 44. 
JVc7-va, Emperor, inscription to, 142, note. 
JVormans, ravages of Rome by, in the eleventh century, 85, 

86. 

O. 

Odes of Parini, character of, 243 — 247. 
Oracle of the Umbrian Jove, consulted by Caligula, 31. 
Ossian, genuineness of, disputed in Italy, 22C. Character of (?e- 
sarotti's Italian version, ih. 



Palatine, Mount, ancient edifices on, successively despoiled by 
Goths and Christians, 133, 135. Present state of the ancient 
remains on it, 135 — 137. Its old walls scraped for saltpetre, 
138. 

Pantheon, conflicting opinions of antiquaries concerning it, 182. 
To whom dedicated, 183. When consecrated ^^ a Christian 
church, 57, 183. Converted into a fortress, 184. Defaced 
by papal additions, 185. Busts of eminent men deposited 
there, 186. 

Parini, Joseph, anecdotes of, 232, 233. Pubhshes his poemi 
called The Day, 233. State of society described in it, 234. 
Causes of its success, 23G. Analysis of the poem, 237. Com- 
pared by the Italians to Virgil's Georgics, 238. Remarks on 
its versification, ib. Its popularity, 241. Parini provided for 
>tv the Atistrian government, ib. Character of his odes, 243. 

48 



380 

24 i. Intended kindness of the Emperor Leopold II. 24i3. His 
iullucncc over the populace, 247. His independence, 248. 
Peacelul death, 249. 

Paul HI. Pope, devastations committed by, oh ancient Roman 
edifices, 62. 

Paul V. Pope, devastations committed by, 63. 

Pepoli, Count Alexander, literary character of, 258, 259. 

Persius, Satires of, translated by Monti, 277. 

restilence, ravages of, at Home, 69, and note. 
\Pcter. See Saint Peter. 

li^eirtirch, reflections of, on the dilapidations of Rome, 96, 97, and 
no/fs. Beautiful sonnet on his house at Arqua, by Count 
Alheji. 255, 256. 

Phocas, Emperor, Column of, 154, 155. Inscription to him, 154, 
note. 

Piety, Temple of, its present state, 187 — 190. 

Pindeinonte, Marquis John, character of the tragedies of, 259, 
260. 

Pindemonte, Hippolitns, character of his tragedy of Arminius, 
260. And of his epistles in verse, 260, 261. Beautiful descrip- 
tion of an English park, 261 , 262. Exquisite canzone to an Eng- 
lish lady, 263. Character of his prose writings, ib. Notice 
of his translation of the Odyssey, 264. What rank he holds 
among the literati of Italy, 264, 265. 

Pins II. Pope, dilapidations committed by, on the remains of an- 
cient Rome, 104. 

Pivs VII. Pope, partial translation of, 202. The old supersti' 
tions restored by him, 205. 

Popes, destruction of ancient edifices at Rome by, 60 — 62, 83, 99, 
104, 105, 106, 107. Their real services, in preserving the 
remains of ancient Rome, considered, 109, 110. 

Probu!!, Emperor, vast show of beasts and gladiators exhibited by. 
in the Coliseum, 160. 

Pyramid of Cestius, 133. 

Q 
^mrnml, columns of the temple on, sent to Consiautmople, b^. 



Reggio, duichy of, list of eminent men, natives of, 12, 13. 



381 

Relics, pretended, discovered at Rome, 100. 

Republic, Roman, few vestiges of remaining;, 128 — 130. 

iJicnri, Nicholas, Tribune of Rome, 1G3. Account of his admini- 
stration, ib. note 164. Copy and translation of his (lutiierto 
inedited) letter to the senate and Roman people, 32G — 331. 
Of the lettors sent to the court of Rome, concernina; the mat- 
ters which were settled in the parlitunent summoned by Ricnzi, 
before the ambassadors of Italy, or of the empire and its Juris- 
diction, 332 — 337. Of the letters sent by Rienzi to the people 
and university of Viterbo, concerning the assistance required 
from them in the government of the republic, 338 — 343. Ol 
his letters to his friend at the papal court at Avignon, 344 — 
357. Of his letters to the pope in vindication of himself 358 
— 363. And of the manner and form of Rienzi's coronation, 
364—367. 

Romans, character of. in the dark ages. 159, 160. 

Rome, approach to, described, 37. View of from the Tincian 
Mount, 38, 39. Remarks on the mistakes in the notices of 
Roman antiquities, 40 — 44. Sacked and burnt by Alaric the 
Goth, 46. By Genserick the Vandal, 49. By Ricimer, ib. 
By Vitiges, 51. And Totila, 51, 52. Injuries done to the an- 
cient edifices by the Christian clergy, 53 — 57. Destruction ol 
the baths. 59. Devastations of Gregory the Great, 60, And 
subsequent popes, 61 — 63. Devastations by the inferior cler- 
gy, 63, 64. Account of the damages this city has sustained by 
fire, 65, 6(J. By civil wars, 66. I^y inundations of the Tiber, 
67, 74, 75, and note 107. By the removal of the emperors 
to Constantinople, 67. Consequent decay of the city, 68 — 71. 
And wretched state of the population, 72. Injuries of earth- 
quakes, 73, 74. Cultivated lands within the walls, 73. Ra- 
vaged by pestilences. 75, and note. Devastations of Rome b}' 
the emperor Constans, 76. Political state of Rome in the ninth 
century. 78 — 81 ; and in the tenth century, 83. Dilapidations of 
ancient edifices, permitted by the ])opes, ib. Ancient edifices, 
converted into fortresses, 84^ 85. Ravages of the Normans in 
the eleventh century. 85, 86. Desolated by civil w^rs in the 
twelfth century, 88-90, 91 ; and by the contests between the ri- 
val emperors, Henry VII. and John, 93. The remains of ancient 
Rome protected during the popular government in the thirteenth 
century, 94, 95. Reflections of Petrarch on the dilapidations 
of Rome, 96, 97, and notes. Besieged and ravaged by Ladi^lans 



382 

of Naples, 99, note. Dilapidations by Martin V. and Eugenius 
IV., 99. Notice of pretended relics at Rome, 100. Account 
of the remains of republican and imperial Rome, in the time 
of Poggio, 101—103. The city sacked by the emperor Charles 
v., 105, 106. Dilapidations committed in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, 107, 108. Estimates of the services of the popes, in 
preserving the remains of ancient Rome, 109, 110. Tomb of 
the Scipios, 111, 112. Opinions of Gibbon concerning the 
circumference of Rome, considered, 118, 119, Its circumfer- 
ence according to D'Anville, 119. Admeasurement of two Eng- 
lishmen in 1817, ib. note. Of Poggio in the fourteenth cen- 
tury, lb. Diflerences in these various measurements consi- 
dered, 120, 121, 122. Notices of successive reparations of 
tlie walls of Rome, 122 — 125. List of the few remains of anti- 
quity that are undoubted, 126. But few vestiges remaining of 
the Roman republic, 128 — 130. Present state of the Palatine 
Hill, 133— 138. Of Trajan's Forum, 138— 144. Ancient and 
present state of the Capitol, 145—150. Of the Roman Forum, 
150, 151. Rrief notice of the tyrants, who at different times 
governed Rome, 159 — 165. History and present state of the 
Coliseum, 168— 182. Of the Pantheon, 182— 186. Of the Tem- 
ple of Piety, 187—190. Of Hadrian's Mole, or the castle of 
St. Angelo, 190—200. 



S. 

Saint Angelo, castle of, its history, 1 96-1 99 ; and present state, 1 99. 

Saint Peter, cluirch of, at Rome, partly built from the materials 
of ancient edilices, 62. His statue raised on Trajan's Column, 
198. Its interior, and the rites there performed little calcu- 
lated for devotion, 200, 201. 

Salhist, translated by Alfieri, character of, 251. 

Satires of AUieri, character of, 253, 254. 

Scipio Barbatus, tomb of. 111, 112. Inscriptions to his memory, 
111, 112, notes. 

Senate of Rome, 165. 

Senators of Rome, not always of foreign birth, 166. Theii' func- 
tions, 167, 168. 

Sepulchres, when emptied of their ashes, 112 — 114. Urns and 
sarcophagi of, transported to the churches as receptacles of re- 
lics. 114. See Tomb. 



383 

Sixtus IF., Pope, devastations committed by, on ancient Romau 

edifices, 62, 104, 105, and note. 
Sixtus v.. Pope, devastations committed by, 62, 63. 
So7incts, two bcanliful ones of Alfieri, 255, 256. 
Slilicho, phindered the Capitoline temple, 66. 
Superstition, return of, with the papal power, 205, 206. 
SybiUine books, burnt by Stilicho, 56. 



T. 

Tarpcian rock, actual site of, uncertain, 144. 
Tasso, Bernardo, epitaph on, 305. 

Tasso, Torquato, confined in a cell at Ferrara, 13. Description 
of it, tb. Liberated at the request of the Prince of Milan, 15. 
Various causes assigned for his imprisonment, 16 — 19. The 
real cause, his injurious expressions against the House of Estc, 
20, 21. Duration of his imprisonment, 22. His treatment 
there, ib. His treatment by the Prince of31ilan, 25. His po- 
"rerty, tb. Pathetic letter of Tasso's, 22, 23, note. His cruel 
treatment at Ferrara, 28. His writings pilfered and pirated, ih. 
Account of his autograph manuscripts preserved in the public 
library at Ferrara, 303, 304. Copy of his will, 301. His in- 
scription to the memory of his father, 305. Letter of Tasso to 
Licinio, 306, 307. To Luca Scalabrino, 308—311, 318—321. 
To George Alessio, 312, 313. To Cardinal lion Compagno, 
soliciting his release from imprisonment in the Hospital of St. 
Anna, 314—317. To the patriarch Gonzaga, 322, 323. 
Temple of the Umbrian Jupiter, 31. Its oracle consulted by Cali- 
gula, ib. Converted into a Christian church, 32. Description 
of it, 33. Account of its dilapidations in the eighteenth cen- 
tury, 35. Temples of Rome shut by an edict of Honorins, 53. 
Account of devastations of the ancient temples, 54 — 57. 
Churches built on the sites of many temples at Home, 58. Cu- 
rious instances of this conversion, 58, 7iote. Other temples 
despoiled for materials to build churches, 58. Notice of the 
Temple of Concord, 152, 153 ; and of the Temple of Piety, 
187—190. 
Theatres of Home destroyed, 59, 
Thcodosius the younger, ordered the temples to be destroyed, 

64, 55. 
Tiber, inundations of, 67, 74, 75 ; and note 107. 



384 

Tomaietii rase, account of, with remarks, 208 — 217. 

Tomb of Scipio Barbatus, 111, 112. Ancient tombs converted into 
fortresses 114. Their marbles converted into receptacles foF 
the remains of Christians, ib. Others converted into cisterns, 
and employed for pavements, 114, 115. The sarcophagus of 
Agrippina employed as a measure for corn, 115. The tomb of 
Augustus now used as a circus for bull-feasts. 115. Tomb of 
the Servilian family preserved by Canova, 118. Tomb of Me- 
tella described, 130—132. 

Trajan'' s Column, St. Peter's statue raised on, 138. His ashes 
when disturbed, 139. When and why raised, 140. Inscription 
on it, 140, note. 

Trajan's Forum,, design of, 140. List of eminent men, whose sta- 
tues were raised there, 140, 141. Its desolation, when com- 
menced, 142. Its dimensions and present state, as ascertained 
by recent excavations, 143, 144. 



Urban VIII., Pope, devastations committed by, on ancient Roman 
edifices, 62, 63. 



V. 

Fases, ancient, discovered near the Alban Hill, 208, 209. Ac- 
count of them by Dr. Visconti, 209-2 1 1 . Observations thereon, 
211—217. 

Veronica, Saint, adventures of the handkerchief of, 100. and note. 

Virgil, illustrations of. 39. Character of Alfieri's translation of 
this poet, 251, 252, 



W. 

Walls of Rome, rebuilt from the materials of ancient edifices, 61 

Notice of their successive reparations, 121, 122 — 125. 
Will of Tasso, copy of, 304, 305. 



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